n 


FAULTY 
DICTION 


rj5«*. 


J 


Faulty  Diction 


AS  CORRECTED  BY  THE 

FUNK   &   WAGNALLS 
NEW  STANDARD  DICTIONARY 
OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE 

A  Brief  Statement  of  the  General 
Principles  Determining  Correctness 
in  English  Speech  and  Writing, 
With  Their  Application  to  Some 
of  the  More  Common  Instances  of 
Violation  and  to  Some  of  the 
Mooted  Questions  Regarding  Usage 


It  has  been  truly  observed  that  'genius  begins 
where  rules  end.'  But  to  infer  from  this,  as 
some  seem  disposed  to  do,  that,  in  any  depart- 
ment wherein  genius  can  be  displayed,  rules 
must  be  useless,  or  useless  to  those  who  possess 
genius,  is  a  very  rash  conclusion. 

Archbishop  Whately  Rhetoric  preface 


FUNK    &   WAGNALLS    COMPANY 
NEW   YORK   AND    LONDON 


Copyright  1915 

Br 

Funk  &  Wagnalls  Compant 


Printed  in  the 
United  States  of  America 


VBi-  '  ^'^ 


^ 


FAULTY  DICTION 


The  design  of  this  booklet  is  to  aid  those  who  ooI^■ 
suit  it  in  the  correction  of  many  of  the  faults  of  speech 
and  writing  common  among  English'speaking  people 
of  some,  or  even  considerable,  education.  The  attempt 
to  carry  out  such  a  design  presupposes  that  the  ques- 
tion whether  a  word  or  form  of  expression  is  faulty  or 
not  depends,  not  upon  the  ipse  dixit  of  the  critic,  but 
upon  rational  principles  that  furnish  a  basis  for  correct 
rules  susceptible  of  critical  application.  A  brief  state- 
ment of  the  principles  that  have  been  applied  in  criti- 
cizing what  is  here  deemed  to  be  faulty  diction  is  there- 
fore made  at  the  outset,  in  the  belief  that  a  careful  con- 
sideration of  these  principles  will  enable  persons  using 
the  book  to  avoid  many  faults  not  mentioned  in  the 
examples  herewith  given. 

The  faulty  expressions  treated  are  comparatively  few, 
since  rigid  principles  of  exclusion  have  been  enforced 
by  the  limitations  of  space.  Slang,  vulgarisms,  pro- 
vincialisms, and  many  other  classes  of  words  without 
literary  value  or  authority,  have  been  mentioned  here 
in  rare  instances  only,  and  usually  with  a  view  merely 
to  give  warning  of  a  marked  tendency  to  their  intro- 
duction into  the  speech  or  writing  of  the  educated. 
The  examples  given  are  sufficient  to  illustrate  the  vari- 
ous classes  of  faulty  usage  that  need  to  be  guarded 
against. 

The  decision  whether  diction  or  pronunciation  is 
faulty  or  not  rests  on  principles  derived  in  the  main 
directly  from  lexicology,  grammar,  and  rhetoric;  but 
the  authority  that  makes  such  principles  of  obligatory 
application  is  the  consensus  of  good  asage.  In  the 
case  of  neoterisms  certain  special  principles  apply. 

To  consider  first  the  applicable  scientific  princi- 
ples of  the  three  fundamental  sciences  involved:  1. 
Scientific  IiCxicology,  the  science  that  treats 
PrinclDles  "  °^  *^®  etymology,  definition,  and 
"  *  application  of  words,"  opposes  the 
use  of  lexical  barbarisms,  including  (1)  unauthorized 
modes  of  deriving  and  compounding  words,  (2)  un- 
authorized words,  and  (3)  words  in  unauthorized 
senses.  These  restrictions  require,  in  general,  the 
avoidance  (a)  of  hybrid  compounds  and  derivatives, 
combining  elements  from  two  languages,  like  cablegram, 
free'volitioTuU,  happify  (unless  they  have  undoubted 
3 


Faulty  Diction 


literary  authority) ;  (6)  of  words  and  meanings,  like 
preventative,  reluctate,  clever  (in  the  American  sense), 
that  have  no  claim  to  good  lexical  standing  —  embrac- 
ing, in  general,  alienisms,  archaisms,  idiotisms,  obso- 
letes,  provincialisms,  technicalities,  etc. 

2.  Grammar,  as  the  science  that  treats  "  of  the 
principles  that  govern  the  correct  use  of  language  in 
either  oral  or  written  form,"  opposes  (1)  the  improper 
inflection  of  words,  as  het  for  heated,  hadn't  ought  for 
ought  not,  beautifulest  for  most  beautiful,  animalculx  for 
animalcules;  (2)  improper  syntactical  constructions  (sae 

CONSTROCTION),  etC. 

3.  Khetoric,  as  the  art  of  discourse,  or  "  the  art  of 

perfecting  man's  power  ol  communicating  to  others  hia 
mental  acts  or  states  by  means  of  language,"  requires 
the  avoidance  of  such  forms  of  expression,  arrange- 
ment, and  construction  as  interfere  with  clearness, 
energy,    and    beauty    of    style.     See    construction; 

RHETORICAL    CONSTRUCTION. 

To  consider  second  the  character  of  that  consensus 

of  usage  that  makes  such  scientific  principles  of  bind- 

Consensus  of       '°^.  application:    In  general,  diction 

Usage. 


to  be  correct  must  accord  with  good 
usage.  It  is  commonly  held  that: 
1.  Usage  to  be  good  should  be  national  —  that  is,  gen- 
eral among  the  English-speaking  peoples,  or  at  least 
among  some  division  of  these  peoples  that  has  a  litera- 
ture of  sufficient  weight  to  give  authority  to  usage  — 
as  opposed  to  local,  provincial,  dialectic,  foreign,  tech- 
nical, cant,  etc. 

The  wide  extension  of  the  peoples  that  use  English 
epeech,  together  with  the  broad  lines  of  division  that 
separate  them,  makes  necessary  certain  obvious  modi- 
fications of  this  requirement  in  its  application  to  Eng- 
lish diction.  While,  however,  best  usage  must  be 
racial,  or  that  of  the  "  Greater  Britain,"  there  may  be 
circumstances  or  conditions  that  tend  to  justify  a 
Briticism,  an  Americanism,  or  an  Anglo-Indian  ex- 
pression, and  to  make  it  national  with  its  own  people. 

Moreover,  national  usage  often  embodies  itself  in 
idiomatic  forms  that  violate  (really  or  apparently)  the 
common  principles  of  lexicology  or  grammar.  (See. 
idiom;  IDIOMATIC  PHRASE.)  The  efforts  of  the  critics 
to  "  reform  "  such  usage  on  the  ground  that  it  is  Ologi- 
cal  or  ungrammatical  may  be  praiseworthy,  and  evea 
measurably  successful;  but  denunciatory  criticism  or 
condemnation  of  such  expressions  as  "  had  rather," 
"  there  is  no  water  here,"  is  altogether  barred,  especially 
in  cases  where  the  usage  reaches  far  back  in  literature. 
Idioms  will  always  abound  in  good,  natural  English,  and 
frequently  they  will  not  submit  to  be  parsed. 

2.  Usage  to  be  good  should  be  reputable,  that  is,  it 
should  have  the  sanction  of  good  authors  or  (to  be  the 
best  usage)  of  the  best  authors.  That  a  form  of  diction 
is  common  to  all  the  great  writers  of  the  language  gives 
it  an  authority  that  places  it  above  criticism;  that  it 
has  been  used  by  a  few  masters,  as  Shakespeare,  Milton, 
"Wordsworth,  Macaulay,  De  Quincey,  Cardinal  New- 
man, Ruskin,  is  regarded  as  justifying  its  use  by  other 
writers;  that  it  has  not  been  used  by  any  leading 
authors,  or  that  it  has  been  used  by  them  only  in  repre- 
senting colloquial  or  illiterate  language,  is  looked  upon 
se  ezcluding  it  from  use  in  the  higher  forms  of  literature. 


Faulty  Diction 


It  is  further  to  be  noted  that  while  the  colloquial, 
technical,  or  poetical  use  of  words  and  forms  does  not 
justify  their  general  employment  in  prose  literature, 
and  especially  in  literature  in  the  stricter  sense,  it  is 
Btill  true  that  such  expressions  may  be  good  and  indis- 
pensable in  their  own  proper  spheres,  and  that  many  of 
them  are  gradually  elevated  in  the  process  of  use  until 
they  become  essential  parts  of  the  language  of  the  higher 
literature. 

3.  Usage  to  be  good  should  be  present,  as  opposed 
to  that  which  has  been  accredited  in  the  past  but  is  now 
obsolete.  That  a  word  or  form  of  expression  was  in 
national  and  reputable  use  in  Shakespeare's  day  or  in 
Milton's  does  not  sanction  its  use  in  the  English  litera- 
ture of  tO'day,  unless  it  is  used  distinctly  as  an  obsolete 
form,  or  unless  its  restoration  is  justified  by  the  canona 
applicable  to  neoterisms. 

To  consider  third  the  principles  applicable  to  neot- 
erisms, or  words  and  meanings  uevV'ly  introduced  into 

Cannne  Tnr      ^^^  language:   On  what  grounds  are 

NAnfJri«rn«       ^^^^   *»    be    accented  or   rejected? 

meoierisms.  Wherever  life  and  progress  mark  a 
people,  their  advancing  thought  calls  for  new  words  for 
its  adequate  expression.  In  connection  ^^-ith  the  rapid 
development  and  progress  and  the  world-wide  relations 
of  the  English'speakiug  peoples,  and  the  varied  mental 
activity  of  the  age,  new  words  in  extraordinary  numbers 
are  always  seeking  admis.sion  into  the  English  language. 
Many  of  these  come  as  if  by  national  inspiration  or  out 
of  new  necessities,  and  take  their  places  as  authorized 
English  almost  before  they  attract  the  notice  of  even 
the  most  observing.  Others  are  presented  for  quiet  and 
perhaps  extended  consideration  and  careful  scientific 
criticism,  preparatory  to  a  final  judgment,  favorable  or 
unfavorable.  Some  —  and  these  among  the  most  at- 
tractive to  writers  of  undisciplined  taste  —  are  put  for- 
ward as  mere  idiotisms,  the  fantastic  coinages  of  men 
of  extraordinary  but  eccentric  genius,  such  as  Thomas 
Carlyle  or  Robert  Browning.  It  is  therefore  necessary 
to  bear  in  mind  the  general  princioles  by  which  the 
reception  or  rejection  of  new  words  is  to  be  governed, 
80  far  as  the  decision  of  the  cases  is  to  be  a  ma\,ter  for 
the  exercise  of  intelligence. 

Fitzedward  Hall  (Modern  English,  on  Neoteristic 
Canons)  has  proposed  the  following  general  neoteristic 
canons: 

1.  "  First  of  all,  a  new  word  ought  to  supply  an 
antecedent  btanli;  or  else,  on  the  score  of  exactness, 
perspicuity,  brevity,  or  euphony,  it  ought  to  be  an 
ImproTement  on  a  word  already  existing."  That 
it  is  necessary  furnishes  in  such  a  case  the  right  of  a 
word  to  be.  Cult,  locomotive,  electromotor,  and  almost 
innumerable  other  terms  have  come  as  matter  of  neces- 
Bity  to  fill  blank.s. 

2.  "  Secondly,  a  new  word  should  obey  some  anal- 
ogy; and,  the  less  recondite  the  analogy,  the  better." 
The  English  language  expresses  a  certain  relation  by 
the  suffix  -able,  or  -ible;  when  Shakespeare  and  Milton 
Vised  uns^ippressive  for  unsuppressible  and  uneipressive 
for  uneipressible,  the  new  forms  were  naturally  rejected 
by  the  English  people.  Yet  when  words  formed  con- 
trary to  simple  analogy  come  into  general  use,  analogy 
slvea  way  to  cor^aemua  of  usage.     If  cablegram  has  coma 


6  Faulty  Diction 

to  supply  a  blank,  there  is  no  helping  it;  it  will  live  de- 
spite criticism. 

3.  "  In  the  third  place,  a  new  word  should  be 
euphonious.  And  the  inbred  feeling  of  us  who  use 
English  is,  that  a  word  should  not  be  very  long,  any 
more  than  very  harsh."  Instances  in  which  the  ca- 
cophony is  the  result  of  imitation  of  harsh  and  disagree- 
able sounds  are,  of  course,  exceptions,  increase  of  sig- 
nificance being  in  such  cases  more  important  than 
euphony. 

The  first  of  these  canons  is  the  most  important  and 
potent  in  deciding  the  right  of  a  new  word,  or  the  use 
of  a  word  in  a  new  sense,  to  a  place  in  the  language. 
It  is  on  this  principle  that  the  noun  trust  is  used  in  a 
sense  never  contemplated  by  Shakespeare,  Addison, 
Burke,  and  Macaulay;  that  the  noun  combine  is  strug- 
gling for  literary  recognition,  and  has  already  secured 
a  place  in  the  Statutes  of  the  United  States,  and  that 
commune,  commmiict,  anarchist,  nihilist,  proletariat,  and 
plutocrat  have  established  themselves  in  popular  favor. 
In  settling  such  cases  of  admission,  analogy  and  euphony 
Oidinarily  play  only  a  secondary  part. 

_  It  is  obvious  that  these  general  principles  regarding 
diction  are  susceptible  of  very  wide  application  to 
examples  analogous  to  those  that  are  here  treated. 


_  When  references  are  from  one  part  of  "  Faulty  Dic- 
tion "  to  another  part,  they  are  made  without  added 
specification:  thus,  "  neTer  so,  etc.,  see  ever  so,  etc.," 
refers  to  the  alphabetic  place  in  "  Faulty  Diction." 

The  full  names  of  various  authors  consulted,  and 
complete  titles  of  works  treating  directly  or  indirectly  of 
matters  of  diction,  with  names  of  publishers,  dates  of 
publication,  etc.,  will  be  found  in  the  list  following,  and 
hence  are  not  appended  to  quotations  occurring  in  the 
course  of  the  treatment. 

Special  acknowledgment  is  due  to  many  professors 
and  teachers  in  colleges  and  other  schools  for  their  help- 
ful suggestion,  in  answer  to  letters  of  inquiry,  of  many 
popular  faults  of  usage  that  have  become  inveterate 
through  the  influence  of  association  or  of  early  training. 

N.  B.  The  key  to  tlie  phonetic  alphabets  used  to 
indicate  pronunciation  will  be  found  on  page  8, 


Faulty  Diction 


LIST  OF  AUTHORS  AND  WORKS 


Henht  Alford  The  Queen's  English,     [dell.] 
Alfred   Aybes    The    Verbalist.     [\.    '93.1     Also,    The 

Orthoepist.     (a.  '93.) 
John  Russell  Bartlett  Dictionary  of  Americanismt. 

[l.  b.  a  CO.  '89.] 
GooLD  Brown  Grammar  of  English  Grammars,     [w.  w. 

'80.] 
George  Crabb  English  Synonymes  Explained,   [a.  '90.] 
Henry  N.  Day  Art  of  Discourse,     (s.  '67.] 
John  S.  F.^rmer  Americanisms  Old  and  New.     [Printed 

by  T.  Poulter  &  Sons,  '89.) 
William  C.  Fowler  English  Grammar,     [h.  '50.] 
Edward  S.  Gould  Good  English,     [w.  j.  w.  '67.] 
FiTZEDWARD    Hall    Recent    Eremplifi cations   of  Fcilse 

Philology  (referred  to  as  False  Philology),     [s.  '72.] 

Also,  Modern  English,     [a.  '73.] 
William  B.  Hodgson  Errors  in  the  Use  of  English: 

edited  and  revised  by  Francis  A.  Teall.     [a.  '82.] 
J.  H.  Long  Slips  of  Tongue  and  Pen.     [a.  'SS.J 
Maetzner  An  English  Grammar  in  three  volumes,  tr. 

by  C.  J.  Grece.     [j.  m.  '74.] 
George  P.  Marsh  Lectures  on  the  English  Language 

first   series,     [s.j     Also,    Origin   and   History   of  the 

English  Language,     [s.] 
WiLLLiM   Matthews    Words:  Their    Use  and  Abuse. 

[s.  c.  g.  '77.] 
George    Washington    Moon    The   Dean's    English. 

[r.  *  8.  '81.] 
Samuel  Ramsey  The  English  Language  and  English 

Grammar,     [a.  p.  p.  s.  '92.] 
Ch.vrles  John  Smith  Synonyms  Discriminated,     [bell 

•90.] 
H.  J.  Strang  Exercises  in  English,     [d.  c.  h.  '93.] 
Richard  Chenevix  Trench  Study  of  Words,     [w.  j.  w.l 

Also,   English   Past  and  Present.      [k.  p.  a  co.  '89.J 

Select  Glossary  of  English  Words,     [k.  p.  &  co.  '90.] 
Richard  Whately  English  Synonyms  Discriminated. 

[l.  i  8.  '87.] 
Richard  Grant  White  Words  and  Their  Uses,  Past 

and   Present,     [h.    m.    a    co.    '90.]     Also,    Everyday 

English,     [h.  m.   a  CO.  '80. J 
William  Dwight  Whitney  Essentials  of  English  Gram- 
mar,    [a.  A  CO.  '90.]     Also,  Langiuige  and  the  Study 

uf    Lanffuage.     [s.     '74.]     Oriental    and    Linguistie 

Studies  second  series,    [s.  '74.J 


KEYS    TO    PRONUNCIATION 

The  pronunciations  given  are  indicated  by  the  alpha- 
bet devised  for  pronunciation  by  the  Department  of 
Superintendence  of  the  National  Education  Associa- 
tion, called  Key  1,  and  the  well»known  text-book  key, 
called  Key  2,  both  of  which  are  used  in  the  Funk  & 
Wagnalls  New  Standard  Dictionary. 


EXPLANATION  OF  SYMBOLS 


KET  KEY 

KET   KEY 

1 

2 

1 

2 

a 

a 

as  In  artistic. 

D 

n,  ng 

as  in  slni;. 

a 

a 

as  in  art. 

Oi 

th 

as  In  thia. 

a 

& 

as  in  rat. 

th 

til 

as  In  thla. 

a 

a,e 

as  in  fare. 

8 

8,  0 

as  in  so,  cent. 

e 

6 

as  in  get. 

z 

z,  a 

as  In  zest,  wa». 

e 

5.e 

as  in  prey. 

€b 

ch 

as  In  church. 

t 

I,  y 

as  In  hit. 

i 

i.  k 

as  In  jel. 

I 

e.i.y 

as  in  police. 

&i 

sh,  cb 

as  In  sAip,  ocean. 

o 

0 

as  in  obey. 

funcilon,  ma- 

0 

6 

as  in  go. 

chine. 

e 

6.  a 

as  In  not. 

3 

zh 

as  In  azure,  leis- 

e 

6,  a 

as  in  or. 

ure,  vision. 

u 

U,  p,  66  as  in  full. 

a 

& 

as  in  ask. 

11 

U,  Q.  00  as  in  rule. 

a 

a,  e.  0. 

U,  y  (unstressed)    as 

u 

u,  6 

as  In  hut. 

In  sofa,  over. 

0 

u.  e,  I,  9  as  In  hum. 

arbor,   giittu- 

ai 

I 

as  in  aisle. 

ral,     martyr- 

ou 

ou,  ow 

as  in  sauer- 

dom. 

kraut. 

1 

a,e.!. 

n,  y  (unstressed)    as 

lu 

Q 

as  in  dura- 
tion. 

In  habit,  sen- 
ate,     surfeit. 

IQ 

0 

as  in  feud. 

biscuit,  mln'- 

el 

01,  6y 

as  lu  oil. 

«te,  privilege. 

k 

k,  e 

as  In  k\n,  cat, 

ffUlt. 

vallei/,  S  u  n  - 
6av,  cities,  re- 

S 

e 

as  in  po. 

new. 

8 

as  In  loch  (Scotch),  ad 

i,  mtcft  (German),    n  as  In  boa 

(French). 

u  as  In  Liibe 

ck  (German) 

Dumas  (French). 

The  single  accent  (')  indicates  the  primary  or  chief  accent; 
the  double  accent  (')  Indicates  the  secondary  accent.  The 
double  dagger  (t)  Indicates  a  variant  form. 

The  abbreviations  uaeO  are  as  follows:  Ar.  =  Arabic;  Aero, 
=  Aeronautics:  Eng.  =  English;  F.  =  French;  G.  =  German; 
Gt.  Brit.  =  Great  Britain;  Mil.  =  Military;  Kus.  =  Russian; 
Berv.  =  Servian,  U.  S.  =  United  States. 


Faulty  Diction 


S.  In  such  words  as  alms,  ailm,  psalm,  not  to  be  pro- 
nounced with  the  short  sound  as  in  cat;  but  as  d  in 
arm.  cdrt.  dart. 

•b-bre'vi-atc.  "  The  sermon  appeared  in  abbreviated 
form  ";  incorrect;  should  be  abridged.  Compare 
s.vnonyms  for  abbreviation  in  Fonk  &  Waqnalls 
New  Standard  Dictionary. 

ab-do'men.     ab-do'men,  rather  than  ab'do-men. 

B-bor'tlvc.  Not  to  be  used  of  acts  in  which  attempting 
or  planning  is  not  involved. 

»-bove'.  In  the  language  of  business,  often  used  aa  an 
adjective,  or  even  as  a  noun  ("  the  above  statement," 
or  "  it  appears  from  the  above  ").  Such  expressions, 
though  employed  by  some  good  writers,  have  the 
weight  of  literary  authority  against  them.  If  the  ref- 
erence is  to  something  actually  to  be  found  in  the  text, 
as  a  sentence,  a  paragraph,  or  a  statement,  it  is  prefer- 
able to  say,  for  instance,  "  The  foregoing  or  preceding 
paragraph,"  "  The  statement  given  above."  When  the 
reference  is  to  something,  as  a  material  object,  a  fact, 
a  circumstance,  or  an  incident,  not  actually  included, 
but  cnly  mentioned,  described,  or  related  in  the  text, 
we  may  say,  for  example,  "  The  above-mentioned  cir- 
cumstance," "  The  person  re/erred  to  above,"  "  The 
incident  related  above,"  etc. 

A-bU'ti-lon.  1  a-biu'ti-len;  2  a-bu'ti-16n.  not  1  a-bi'V- 
ti-lon;  2  a-bu'ti-16n,  nor  1  ar-biu'ti-lon;  2  ar-bu'ti-lon. 

ac-cept'  of.  AJtho  reputable  writers  make  use  of  the 
locution  accept  of,  nevertlieless,  in  whatever  sense 
the  verb  is  used,  the  of  is  unnecessary;  as,  "  I  shall  ac- 
cept this,"  not  accept  of:  "  John  accepts  a  present,"  not 
accepts  of. 

ac-cli'mate.  1  a-klai'mit;  2  S-ell'mat,  not  1  ak'h-met; 
2  ac'li-mat. 

ac'cu-rate.  1  ak'yu-nt;  2  5e'jrgi-rat,  not  1  ak'ar-it;  2 
Sc'er-at,  nor  1  ak'rit;  2  ac'ret. 

ac-'me.     See  climax. 

a-fOUS'tics.  Like  many  other  scientific  terms,  plural 
in  form,  singular  in  construction.  "  Acoustics  is  (not 
are)  a  department  of  science  treating  of  sound." 

adjective  and  adverb.  The  adjective  is  correctly  used 
in  close  association  with  a  verb  when  some  quality  of 
the  s^ibjcd  rather  than  of  the  action  of  the  verb  is  to 
be  expressed.  As  a  general  rule,  if  any  phrase  denot- 
ing manner  could  be  substituted,  the  adverb  should  be 
used;  but  if  some  part  of  the  verb  to  be  could  be  em- 
ployed as  a  connective,  the  adjective  is  required;  as, 
'  The  physician  felt  the  pulse  carefully  (i.  e.,  in  a  care- 
ful manner,  or  with  care),  and  observed  that  the 
patient's  hand  felt  cold  (».  e.,  was  cold  to  the  touch)." 
Hence  it  is  correct  to  say  "  He  feels  sad,"  "  It  looks 
hcui,"  "  It  smells  sweet,"  "  He  stood  erect."  In  some 
cases  either  form  would  be  correct,  and  the  choice  be- 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


10  Faulty  Diction 

tween  thom  is  a  matter  of  force,  emphasis,  or  Individ* 
ual  taste. 

They  escaped  all  soSe  [or  sajely\  to  land.  A<As  xxvll,  44. 
Sppcial  perplexity  arises  in  connection  with  certaii; 
verbs,  such  aa  appear,  feel,  and  look,  that  are  used 
sometimes  as  active  verbs  and  sometimes  as  substan- 
tive verbs  (approaching  equivalence  to  the  verb  to  be). 
In  the  former  sense  these  verbs  take  the  adverb,  in  the 
latter  the  adjective,  in  accordance  with  the  principle 
just  stated;  as,  "  The  ship  appeared  [came  into  view) 
suddenly  ";  "  The  decision  appears  (apparently  is]  un- 
just ";  "  She  looked  [glanced]  shyly  at  him  ";  "  She 
looked  [had  the  appearance  of  being,  or  was]  shy." 
Yet  it  is  common  to  say  "  You  are  looking  (or  he  is 
feeling)  badly,"  doubtless  because  bad  refers  not 
merely  to  physical  or  mental,  but  also  to  moral  quali- 
ties, 80  thai  (for  fear  of  suggesting  moral  implications) 
we  are  disinclined  to  say  "  You  look  bad,"  "  1  feel 
bad,"  or  the  like.  But  when  a  man  suddenly  disap- 
pears leaving  accounts  unsettled,  we  very  promptly 
say  "  That  looks  bad." 

ad-mit',  ad-mlt'  of.  Quite  different  in  meaning. 
"  This  gate  admits  to  the  grounds,  but  the  size  of  the 
vehicle  will  not  admit  of  its  passing  through."  When 
Emerson  sayj  "  Every  action  admits  of  being  out- 
done," the  simple  admit  could  not  be  substituted. 

ad'vent.  Not  to  be  used  indiscriminately  of  any  ar- 
rival, but  only  of  that  which  is  important,  stately,  or 
sacred;  not,  "  The  schoolboy's  unexpected  advent." 

a  few.  Needlessly  criticized  as  employing  the  singular 
article  before  an  adjective  plural  in  sense.  We  say  a 
hundred  and  o  great  many,  these  expressions  being 
viewed  as  collective.  A  few  is  correct  idiomatic  Eng- 
lish, with  a  sense  distinctiyely  different  from  that  of 
the  adjective  used  alone;  as,  "  A  few  men  can  be 
trusted  "  (»'.  c,  a  small  but  appreciable  number). 
"  Few  men  can  be  trusted  "  (i.  e.,  scarcely  any)  is 
practically  equivalent  to  the  negative  statement 
"  Most  men  are  not  to  be  trusted." 

a-gatn'.     1  s-gen';  2  a-gen',  never  1  a-gen';  2  a-gan'. 

a-gainst'.  1  a-genst';  2  a-g§nst',  never  1  a-genst';  2 
a-ganst'. 

ag'gra-vate.  Often  erroneously  used  in  the  sense  of 
provoke,  exasperate,  perhapw  from  confusion  with 
aggrieve.  To  aggravate  is  etymologically  to  increase 
in  weight,  hence  in  gravity,  severity,  or  intensity.  A 
disease  or  other  evil  may  be  aggravated,  but  not  a 
person. 

ag''ri-cul'tur-isf.  Ecjonologically  preferable  to  agri' 
culturalist,  no  difference  of  meaning  being  recognized. 
Some  analogous  forms,  as  controvertist  and  controver- 
sialist, have  been  differentiated  in  meaning. 

a'gue.     1  e'giu;  2  a'gu,  not  1  e'gar;  2  a'ger. 

ain't.  A  modification  of  am  not,  or  are  not,  always  in- 
elegant. As  used  with  a  nominative  of  the  third  per- 
son singular  (it  ain't,  he  ain't)  it  is  ungrammatical  and 
a  vulgarism. 

al"a-pac'a.  A  popular  error  for  alpaca  (pron.  1  al- 
pac'a;  2  Sl-pSc'a). 

all  of.  A  popular  idiom  to  emphasize  the  totality  of 
that  which  is  referred  to;  as,  "  How  many  of  those 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  11 

men  did  you  see  ?  "  "I  saw  all  of  them."  "  How 
much  of  this  shall  I  take  7  "  "  All  (».  e.,  the  whole) 
of  it."  The  best  literary  usage  omits  the  of  as  need- 
less, preferring  "  I  saw  them  all,"  "  Take  it  all,"  etc.; 
"  I  saw  all  (not  all  of)  my  friends  once  more." 

Sl-Iow'.  In  some  parts  of  the  United  States  used  in  the 
sense  of  think,  believe,  intend:  as,  "  He  allowed  he 
would  go  ";  "  He  allowed  to  pay  it."  It  is  used  also 
in  the  sense  of  say.     Such  uses  are  inadmissible. 

sl-lude'.  Erroneously  used  in  the  general  sense  of 
mention  or  speak  of.  To  allude  means  to  refer  deli- 
cately or  incidentally,  as  if  in  play.  It  is  not  correct 
to  say  "  The  speaker  alluded  at  great  length  to  the 
tariff."  See  synonyms  under  alldde  in  Funk  & 
Wagnali-8  New  Standard  Dictionary. 

Late  in  the  eighteenth  century  Cowper  did  not  venture 
to  do  more  than  allude  to  the  great  allegorlst  (Bunyon]: 
"I  name  thee  not,  lest  so  despised  a  name 
Should  move  a  sneer  at  thy  deserved  fame." 
Macaulay  England  ch.  vU.  p.  679  (note),  (w.  t.  a.  '81.1 

al'niost.  Its  use  as  an  adjective,  common  in  early 
English,  is  being  revived  to  some  extent,  but  has  been 
sharply  challenged;  as.  "  the  almost  Christian "; 
"  his  almost  impudence  of  manner."  Almost  no  and 
almost  nothing  are  also  challenged.  The  shortening 
of  almost  into  amost  or  'most  ("  1  see  them  'most  every 
day  ")  is  inadmissible  in  literature  that  ia  not  ob- 
viously colloquial  in  style. 

a-Ione',  o.  &  adt.  For  sole  or  only:  as,  "  the  alone 
principle,"  for  "  the  sole,  or  only,  principle  ":  a  com- 
mon use  in  the  16th  and  17th  centuries,  but  now  an 
archaism. 

a-lu'ml-nuiti,  al''u-iiiin'i-uiii.  Scientific  usage  va- 
ries, but  aluminum,  appears  to  be  the  form  now  pre- 
ferred by  manufacturers  and  in  commercial  speech  as 
well  as  by  most  chemists. 

al'ways.  1  el'wiz;  2  al'wa.5,  not  1  el'uz;  2  al'ug.  Al- 
ways is  a  better  prose  word  than  ever  for  "through 
all  time";  ever  is  appropriate  in  elevated  or  poetio 
diction,  but  elsewhere  suggests  affectation. 

a-oiid'.  For  amidst,  is  poetical  rather  than  prose 
usage. 

a-mong'  one  an-oth'er.  "  They  exchange  confi- 
dences among  one  another  ";  should  be  "  among  them- 
selves "  or  "  with  each  other." 

and.  Rightly  used  to  superadd  the  action  of  one  verb 
to  that  of  another;  wrongly  used  when,  in  connection 
with  a  following  verb,  made  a  substitute  for  the  simple 
infinitive.  "  He  saith  unto  them.  Come  and  see. 
They  came  and  saw  where  he  dwelt  "  (John  i,  39),  is 
vigorous,  idiomatic  English.  "  Go  and  get  it  "  im- 
plies two  acts  with  successful  result;  "  Go  to  get  it," 
one  act  with  a  purpose^  of  uncertain  result,  to  d 
another.  "  Try  and  do  it  "  should  not  be  used  wheL 
the  meaning  is  simply  "  Make  an  attempt  to  do  it." 

Sometimes  used  incorrectly  where  or  is  required. 
Not,  "  A  language  like  the  French  and  German  con- 
tains as  many  words,"  but  "  A  language  like  the 
French  or  the  German,"  since  there  is  no  language 
that  is  at  once  French  and  German. 
_  Two  nouns  connected  by  and  may  be  followed  by  a 
singular  verb  when  the  two  nouns  are  but  different 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


12  Faulty  Diction 

expressions  for  the  same  thing;  as,  "  The  only  revelar 
tion  of  God's  will  to  mankind,  and  the  only  record  of 
God's  dealing  with  men,  ix  now  to  be  obtained,"  etc. 

Sometimes  improperly  used  to  introduce  a  relative 
clause  where  no  conjunction  is  needed  or  admissible; 
as,  "  A  good  man  and  to  whose  untiring  energy,"  etc., 
for  "  A  good  man  to  whose  untiring  energy,"  etc. 
This  fault,  rare  in  the  United  States,  Dean  Alford 
mentions  [The  Queen's  English,  par.  444J  as  "  one  of 
the  commonest  "  in  England. 

an"i-inarcules.  Plural  of  animalcule:  sometimes 
improperly  animatculx,  as  if  the  plural  of  the  femi- 
nine form  animalcula,  which  is  not  a  nominative 
singular,  but  the  Latin  plural  of  animalculum. 

an-otb'er  from.  Improperly  used  for  another  than: 
as,  "  Judges  of  quite  another  stamp /rom  his  Majesty's 
judges  of  Assize,"  for  "  of  quite  another  stamp  than," 
etc. 

an-tip'o-des>  1  an'tip'o-diz;  2  in-tfp'o-de?,  mispro- 
nounced 1  an'ti-podz;  2  an'tl-p6d§,  the  more  readily 
because  the  singular  is  1  an'ti-pode;  2  Sn'tl-pod. 

an'y,  adv.  Used  generally  with  adjectives  or  adverbs 
in  the  comparative  degree,  but  not  directly  with 
verbs.  "Can  you  see  any  better?"  is  admissible; 
but  not  "  Can  you  run  any  ?  "  No,  in  strictly  literary 
use,  is  ordinarily  preferable  to  not  any.  "  He  is  no 
wiser  than  I  "  is  a  more  common  literary  form  than 
"  He  is  not  any  wiser  than  I,"  but  the  latter  form  is 
often  more  emphatic,  especially  in  conversational  use 
(as  equivalent  to  "  by  no  means,"  or  "  not  at  all  "). 

an'y-how",  an'y-way.  Forcible  colloquial  expressions 
often  used  conjunctively,  to  indicate  that  something 
is  to  be  done,  admitted,  believed,  or  the  like,  be  the 
circumstances,  results,  or  conditions  what  they  may; 
as,  "  Anyhow,  I  have  lost  it  " ;  "  Anyway,  I  am  going." 
In  place  of  these,  such  expressions  as  "  In  any  event," 
"  At  any  rate,"  "  Be  that  as  it  may,"  are  ordinarily 
preferred  by  writers. 

any  manner  of  means.  Erroneously  used  for  any 
means. 

sn'y  place.  [Western  U.  S.]  Erroneously  for  any 
where. 

an'y-way,  an'y-where.  Frequently  misspelled  with 
a  superfluous  s ;  anyways,  anywheres,  probably  in  imi- 
tation of  such  adverbial  forms  as  forwards,  backwards, 

a-pos'tle.  1  a-posi;  2  a-p6s'l,  noi  1  a-pes'tl;2it-p6s'tl, 
nor  1  a-pes'ul;  2  a-p6s'ul. 

ap-par'ent.  1  a-par'ent;  2  S,-p4r'gnt,  not  1  ap-pe'rant; 
2  ap-pe'rent. 

ap-pre'ci-ate.  Strictly,  to  value  (something)  at  its 
real  worth  (ad  pretium);  but  in  present  commercial 
phrase  used  as  meaning  "  to  raise  or  rise  in  value," 
the  opposite  of  depreciate:  as,  "  Since  the  building  of 
the  new  railroad  real  estate  has  rapidly  appreciated." 

ap-proach'.  Sometimes  incorrectly  used  for  address, 
petition,  etc.  One  is  approached  oy  indirect  or  covert 
intimation,  suggestion,  or  question,  which  he  may 
encourage  if  he  will,  or  may  put  aside  without  formal 
refusal.  Approach  is  often  used  in  a  bad  sense,  im- 
plying the  use  of  bribery  or  intrigue.  Do  not  say 
"  The  teachers  have  approached  the  Educational  De- 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  13 

partment  for  longer  intermissions,"  when  you  mean 
"  The  teachers  iiuve  peiiiioned,"  etc. 
ap'pro-batc.    To  pass  with  approval:  formerly  used  ia 

England,  but  now  an  Americanism. 

Ar'ab.  1  ar'sb;  2  ir'ab.  not  1  e'rab;  2  a'rSb.  gum 
ar'a-bic,  not  gum  a-re'bic. 

ar'du-ous.  1  ar'ju-[or  -diu-]us;  2  ar'ju-[or  -du-]ii3,  not 
1  or' jus;  2  ar'jus. 

a're-a.     1  e'ri-a;  2  a're-a,  not  1  ar'i;  2  ftr'i. 

aren't.  For  are  not  when  the  subject  follows;  as, 
"  Aren't  you  ?  "  "  Aren't  they  ?  "  The  best  conver- 
sational usage  contracts  the  verb  when  the  subject 
precedes:  "  we're  not,"  "  you're  not,"  etc.  Similarly 
we  say  "  I'm  not,"  "  I'll  not,"  "  you're  not,"  etc. 
Similarly  we  say  "  I'm  not,"  "  I'll  not." 

ar'gue.  We  aro^ie  a  case,  ilisjrate  a  bill.  One  side  may 
do  all  the  arguing:  in  debating  both  sides  take  part. 
See  synonyms  for  aroue  in  Fdnk  &  Wagnalls  New 
Standard  Dictionary. 

ar-raign',  at,  before,  for,  on,  upon.  "  The  criminal  was 
arraigned  at  the  court."  No;  a  criminal  is  arraigned 
at  the  bar;  before  the  tribunal  or  court;  for  a  crime; 
on  an  indictment;  upon  discovery  of  his  crime. 

articles.  The  definite  article  is  ordinarily  required  be- 
fore a  present  participle  used  as  a  verbal  noun  and 
followed  by  of.  Not,  "  It  is  drawing  of  a  new  consti- 
tution that  startles  us,"  but  "  It  is  the  drawing  of  a 
new  constitution,"  etc. 

Two  or  more  words  connected  by  and  referring  ti> 
different  things  should  each  have  the  article;  whea 
they  denote  the  same  thing,  the  article  is  commonly 
used  with  the  first  only;  as,  "  Christ,  the  prophet, 
priest,  and  king."  If  we  say  "  The  sculptor  and  the 
painter  should  understand  anatomy,"  we  imply  that 
the  arts  of  sculpture  and  of  painting  are  the  province 
of  different  persons;  but  we  say  "  Michelangelo,  the 
sculptor  and  painter,"  since  Michelangelo  was  both 
sculptor  and  painter.  "  The  black=and=white  horse  " 
would  denote  one  horse  marked  with  the  two  colore, 
black  and  white.  "  The  black  and  the  white  horse  " 
would  denote  two  horses,  one  black  and  the  other 
white. 

art'ist.  A  word  grossly  abused,  since,  along  with  the 
painter  and  the  sculptor,  the  barber  and  the  cook  also 
claim  the  title.  Mechanic  and  artisan  ought  to  be  re- 
stored to  their  place  in  English,  and  artist  held  to  its 
true  meaning. 

as  .  .  .  as,  so  .  ._ .  as.  A  shade  of  difference  in  their 
meanings,  as  strictly  used  in  comparisons,  is  ofteq 
neglected.  So  ...  as  suggests  that,  in  the  compari-- 
son  of  the  person  or  things  mentioned,  there  is  present 
in  the  mind  of  the  speaker  a  consciousness  of  a  con- 
siderablt  degree  of  the  quality  considered;  as  ...  as 
does  not  carry  this  impression.  In  "  John  is  not  aa 
tall  as  James  "  there  b  no  implication  that  the  speaker 
regards  either  John  or  James  as  tall;  there  is  merely  a 
comparison  of  their  heights.  So,  too,  in  "  John  is  not 
85  old  as  James  "  there  is  merely  a  comparison  of 
ages.  But  if  one  says,  "  John  is  not  so  tall  as  James," 
though  the  so  is  not  emphasized,  there  is  understood 
usually  to  be  a  reference  more  or  less  distinct  to  some- 
thing uncommon  in  the  height  of  James  as  compared 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


14  Faulty  Diction 

with  the  stature  of  other  men  or  of  other  boys  of  hi« 
age;  the  speaker  regards  James  as  being  tall.  "  John 
is  not  so  old  as  James  "  suggests  that,  in  some  relation 
or  other,  James  is  thought  of  as  being  old:  as  in 
"  James  is  taller  than  John."  "  Yes,  but  my  boy  ia 
not  so  old  as  yours." 

In  affirmative  sentences  so  .  .  .  os  can  not  properly 
be  used  except  in  certain  restricted  constructions,  and 
where  the  quality  referred  to  is  to  be  emphasized.  _  It 
occurs  oftenest  in  sentences  that,  though  affirmative 
in  form,  carry  a  negative  suggestion;  as,  "  So  good  a 
cook  as  Polly  is  hard  to  find,"  that  is,  "  It  is  not  easy 
to  find  so  good  a  cook  as  Polly." 

Few  knights  of  the  shire  (in  the  17th  rentur3']  had 
libraries  so  good  as  may  now  perpetually  be  found  In  a 
servants'  hall.  Macaolay  History  oh.  3. 

That  is,  "  not  many  knights  of  the  shire,"  etc.  In  a 
simple  aflBrmative  comparison  like  "  Jane  is  os  good 
a  cook  as  Polly,"  so  ...  os  is  not  used. 

In  interrogative  sentences,  as  in  negative  sentences, 
a  consciousness  more  or  less  distinct  of  a  considerable 
degree  of  the  quality  referred  to  is  conveyed  by  so 
.  .  .  as,  but  not  by  as  ..  .  as.  "  Is  John  as  old  as 
James  7  "  and  "  Is  your  uncle  so  old  as  my  father  ?  " 
convey  different  impressions  as  to  what  the  speaker 
means  by  old.  In  the  question  where  as  ...  os  is 
used  there  is  no  implication  of  considerable  age  in  old. 
as  far  as,  as  sooa  as,  as  long  as.  Usually  inter- 
changeable with  so  far  as,  so  soon  as,  so  long  as,  etc., 
but,  if  the  extent  or  degree  usually  implied  in  these 
phrases  is  to  be  emphasized  at  all  (however  slightly), 
so  is  used  preferably  to  as. 

We  said  of  conduct,  that  it  Is  the  simplest  thing  in  the 
world  as  far  as  knowledge  is  concerned,  but  the  hardest 
thing  in  the  world  as  far  as  doing  is  concerned. 

Matthew  Arnold  LUerature  and  Dogriia  oh.  3. 

Therefore,  we  fulfil  the  law  of  our  being  so  far  as  ouf 
being  is  a-sthetic  and  intellective,  as  well  as  so  far  as  it  13 
moral. — lb.  (Conclusion). 

In  the  second  of  these  quotations  there  is  a  distinct 
reference  to  and  limitation  of  extent  conveyed  in  so 
far  as.  In  the  as  far  as  of  the  first  quotation  there  is 
no  such  reference;  for  "  as  far  as  knowledge  is  con- 
cerned "  there  might  be  substituted  "  in  relation  to 
knowledge  "  or  "  with  respect  to  knowledge." 

S-side'.  An  Americanism  for  apart.  Not  "  auailiary 
words  aside,"  but  "  auxiliary  words  apart." 

asked.     1  askt;  2  askt,  not  ast. 

as-pir'ant.  1  as-pair'ant;  2  as-pir'ant,  rather  vhan  1 
as'pi-rent;  2  as'pl-rant. 

at,  in.  Always  in  a  country;  either  at  or  in  a  city,  town, 
or  village;  at,  if  the  place  is  regarded  as  a  point;  in,  if 
it  is  inclusive.  "  We  arrived  at  Paris  ";  "  He  lives 
in  London  ";  "  There  are  three  churches  in  this  vil- 
lage." _  In  England  the  use  of  in  before  towns  and 
cities  is  more  restricted  than  in  the  United  States; 
the  distinctions  observed  there  between  at  and  in 
often  seem  arbitrary. 

The  sense  of  at  is  virtually  included  in  there  and 
where,  so  that  in  the  phrase  "  Where  is  it  ai  f  "  —  com- 
mon in  some  parts  of  the  United  States  —  the  at  is 
redundant,  and  the  expression  somewhat  grotesque. 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  15 

•t  ftll.  Used  properly  as  meaning  "  in  any  degree," 
"  in  any  respect,  '  "  at  any  time,"  etc  ;  sometimes  im- 
properly for  entirely,  a  use  now  obsolete  in  good  Eng- 
lish; as,  "  Tije  clock  ceases  to  go  at  all." 

at  auc'tion.  In  England  called  an  Americanism. 
Johnson  says  the  verb  auction  means  "  to  sell  by  auc- 
tion," that  is,  by  ofTering  to  the  highest  bidder.  "  At 
private  sale  "  is  also  peculiar  to  the  United  States. 
The  English  say,  "  The  good'will  and  furniture  of  the 
house  were  disposed  of  by  private  sale  ";  "  The  ele- 
pnant  Emperor  has  been  sold  by  auction." 

at  length.  The  assumption  that  at  Unylk  means  the 
same  as  at  last,  and  is  therefore  superfluous,  is  an  error. 
Both  at  lenqlh  and  at  last  presuppose  long  waiting;  but 
at  last  views  what  comes  after  the  waiting  as  a  finality: 
at  length  views  it  as  intertnediate  with  reference  to 
action  or  state  that  continues,  or  to  results  that  are 
yet  to  follow.  "  I  have  invited  him  often,  and  at 
length  he  is  coming."  "  I  have  invited  him  often,  and 
at  last  he  has  come."  "  At  length  he  began  to  re- 
cover."    "  At  last  he  died." 

Scarce  thus  at  length  failed  speech  recovered  sad. 

Milton  F.  L.  bk.  iv,  1.  357. 
O,  then,  at  last  relent.  Milton  P.  L.  bk.  Iv,  1.  79. 

aux-il'ia-ry.  1  ogz-irya-n;  2  ag^-H'ya-ry,  or  1  egz-il'i- 
e-n;  2  ag§-n'i-a-ry,  not  \  ox-il'i-s-n;  2  ax-IH-a-ry. 

a-vails'.     An  Americanism  for  profits  or  proceeds.  1 

av'e-Due.  1  av'a-niu;  2  av'e-nu,  not  1  av'nu;  2  iv'nu, 
nor  1  av'nar;  2  3v'ner. 

av"0-ca'tloD.  Loosely  used  by  good  writers  for  voca- 
tion. Vocation  strictly  signifies  the  main  calling  or 
business  of  life;  avocation,  a  diversion  from  that  voca- 
tion. 

In  this  sense  anocafton  was  exclusively  employed  In  the 
seventeenth  and  the  e.irlier  part  of  tue  etehteenth  century, 
being  often  opposed  to  vocation.  .  .  .  Briefly,  the  case  la 
this:  If  aroralion  and  vocation  are  to  be  held  synonymous. 
English  is  poorer  by  a  useful,  and  richer  by  a  superfluous, 
term.  Hodgson  Errors  etc.,  pp.  7,  8. 

aw'ful,  aw'ful-ly.  In  colloquial  or  slang  use,  for  very, 
eiceedinqly,  to  be  avoided;  as,  "  an  awful  good  time  "; 
"  an  awfully  jolly  crowd  ";  "  thanks  o!/;/uW;/." 

aye*.     Pronounced  1  ai;  2  i,  and  meaning  yes. 

aye^.     Pronounced  1  e;  2  §.  and  meaning  always. 


B 


back.  "Returned  hack";  omit  hack  as  included  in 
returned. 

back  out.     An  Americanism  for  retreat. 

back'ward,  back'wards.  Used  by  good  writers  indis- 
criminately, except  as  euphony  may  require  the  one 
form  rather  than  the  other.  See  vocabulary  of  Funk 
&  Wagnalls  New  Standard  Dictionary. 

The  two  forms  may  be  conveniently  used,  in  ac« 
cordance  with  their  origin  etymologically,  to  distin- 
gtiish  the  adjective  and  adverb;  as,  "  A  backyoarA 
pupU  ";  "  He  walked  backwards."     Also,  to  distin- 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


13  Faulty  Diction 

guish  movement  back  from  but  with  the  face  toward 
a  person,  from  mere  direction  of  movement  rearward. 
These  ideas  are  usually  expressed  confusedly,  except 
as  back  is  used  instead  of  backward  or  backwards  to 
express  the  latter. 

bad.  "A  bad  wound,"  "a  bad  pain":  very  common 
use,  but  verging  upon  pleonasm:  better  "  a  severe  or 
dangerous  wound  '  ;  "an  intense  pain."  Avoid  the 
use  of  bad  for  sick  or  ill;  as,  "  I  have  been  bad  (rather 
ill)  again  with  a  spitting  of  blood." 

bad'Iy.  Used  in  the  sense  of  very,  very  much,  or  greatly, 
is  colloquial  and  often  somewhat  inelegant;  as,  "  I 
have  wanted  to  see  you  badly  "  (rather,  greatly) ;  "  We 
shall  miss  you  badly"  (rather,  very  much).  "The 
carpet  needs  to  be  beaten  badly  "  is  a  ludicrous  blun- 
der for  "  The  carpet  badly  (or  very  much)  needs  to  be 
beaten  "  —  the  construction  connecting  badly  with 
"  beaten "  rather  than  with  "  needs,"  which  i6 
qualifies.     See  construction. 

bag'gage.  Meaning  "  the  portable  articles  tnat  a  trav- 
eler takes  with  him  on  a  journey,"  usually  preferred 
in  the  United  States  to  luggage,  now  commonly  used 
in  Great  Britain.  But  Thackeray  speaks  of  "  The 
baronet's  baggage  on  the  roof  of  the  coach,"  and  John- 
son says  "  We  saw  our  baggage  following  below." 

bal'ance.  A  much=abused  word.  As  an  accountant's 
term  the  balcnce  is  that  which  must  be  added  to  the 
less  or  subtracted  from  the  greater  of  two  amounts,  aa 
receipts  and  expenses,  to  make  them  equal,  so  as  to 
"  balance  "  the  account;  it  does  not  properly  denote 
what  is  left  of  anything  after  a  part  has  been  taken 
away;  that  is  the  remainder.  "  The  balance  of  one's 
dinner  "  and  "  the  balance  of  the  evening  "  are  at 
best  objectionable  colloquialisms.  Say  "  the  rest  " 
or  "  the  remainder." 

ban'is-ter.  In  conversation,  tho  not  in  writing,  ban- 
ister has  superseded  almost  entirely  the  two  words 
baluster  and  balustrade.  The  corruption  ought  not  to 
be  encouraged.  See  the  words  in  vocabulary  of  Funk 
&  W.^GNALLS  New  Standard  Dictionary. 

ban'quet.  Properly  a  sumptuous  feast  or  entertain- 
ment; ridiculous  or  vulgar  when  used  to  denote  aa 
ordinary  meal. 

bap'tism.  1  bap'tizm;  2  bS,p'ti§m,  not  1  -tiz-um;  2 
-ti§-um. 

bay'ou.     1  bai'u;  2  bi'u,  not  1  be'yu;  2  ba'yu. 

be.  What  is  the  proper  case  of  a  personal  pronoun  fol- 
lowing this  verb  and  in  apposition  with  its  subject? 
Grammatically,  the  nominative  is  the  proper  form,  as 
the  case  is  simply  one  of  apposition,  and  the  pronoun 
in  apposition  with  the  nominative  must  itself  be  in 
that  case.  "  It  is  I,  be  not  afraid  ";  "  it  is  he."  Be- 
fore the  10th  century  the  objectives,  me,  him,  her, 
etc  ,  in  such  constructions  (if  at  the  end  of  a  sentence) 
were  somewhat  commoner  in  literary  usage  than  I, 
he,  she,  etc.  The  objective  forms  are  still  common  in 
colloquial  use,  owing  probably  to  the  fact  that  most 
of  our  sentences  are  so  fc-med  that  they  require  the 
pronoun  at  the  end  of  a  sentence  to  be  in  the  objective 
case,  and  that  case  is  accordingly  the  more  natural  one 
in  that  place.  Present  literary  and  educated  use 
tends  toward  the  grammatically  correct  locution,  al- 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  17 

though  Dsan  Alford  stoutly  defendeii  "  It's  me,"  ap- 
pealing to  Dr.  Latham  as  authority.  But  Dr. 
Latham  does  not  advocate  the  analogous  forms  "  It'3 
him,"  '■  It's  her,"  "  It's  them,"  "  That's  him,"  etc. 

Iteard.  1  bird;  2  herd,  not  1  bard;  2  b^d,  nor  1  bdrd; 
2  bard,  as  is  often  heard. 

besst'ly.  A  British  colloquialism  expressive  of  disgust 
or  contempt;  as,  "  This  is  beastly  weather  ";  some- 
times even  used  adverbially;  as,  "  I  was  beastly  tired." 
This  locution,  essentially  in  bad  taste,  though  often 
affected  by  college  students  and  others  who  should 
know  better,  seems  never  to  be  defensible  except  ia 
the  phrase  "  beastly  drunk,"  and  even  this  ia  objec- 
tionable as  being  a  libel  on  the  beasta. 

be  l)ack.  A  common  tho  unwarnuuod  colloquialism; 
as,  "I'll  be  back  in  a  moment."  "I'll  come  back" 
is  legitimate,  back  denoting  direction  toward  the 
Btarting'point;  but  be  lack  has  no  such  significance. 
One  should  say  "  I'll  be  here  (or  there)  again  in  a 
moment." 

Fetch  me  this  herb:  and  be.  thou  here  aoain. 
Ere  the  leviathan  can  swim  a  league. 
Shakespeare  Midsummer  Night's  Dream  act  11,  sc.  1, 1.173. 

be-Kin'.  A  good  plain  Saxon  word,  understood  and 
felt  by  learned  and  unlearned  alike,  almost  always  to 
be  preferred  to  the  French  commence. 

be-gin'ner.  Not  to  be  qualified  by  new.  A  new  be- 
ginner is  absurd,  as  a  beginner  must  needs  be  new  in 
his  work. 

be'ing.  Richard  Whately,  George  P.  Marsh,  Richard 
Grant  White,  and  other  critics  have  objected  strenu- 
ously to  the  use  of  "  is  being  built,"  "  was  being  built," 
and  kindred  forms  of  English  imperfects  passive,  as 
recent  and  unwarranted  innovations;  but  Fitzedward 
Hall  has  shown  conclusively  that  they  are  neither 
recent  nor  unwarranted,  but  have  been  used  by  tho 
best  writers  for  a  century,  and  now  have  well'nigh 
universal  literary  sanction.     He  says: 

Prior  to  the  evolution  of  is  being  built  and  was  being 
built,  we  possessed  no  discriminate  equivalents  of  cedi/l- 
catur  and  ccdiflcabatur ;  is  built  and  u-as  built,  by  which  they 
were  rendered,  corresponding  exactly  to  ocdijlcalus  est  and 
adificalus  erat. 

Modern  English  App.,  p.  350.   [3.  '73.] 

7s  growing,  was  growing,  indicate  an  activity  from 
within;  as,  the  tree  is  growing  (from  its  own  internal 
forces) ;  is  being  grawn,  was  being  grown,  the  activity 
of  some  agent  from  without;  as,  the  plant  is  being 
grown  (by  the  gardener).  So  also,  and  strikingly,  is 
bleeding  (as  from  a  wound) ,  and  is  being  bled  (as  by  a 
surgeon). 

be-long'.  Used  absolutely;  as,  "  He  doesn't  belong,'* 
"  We  all  belong  "  (sc.  to  this  organization,  society, 
community,  or  in  the  place,  sphere,  or  associations 
where  actually  present):  recent  in  the  United  States, 
and  apparently  rapidly  spreading  in  popular  use, 
though  with  no  literary  support. 

be-Iong'ing,  n.  Commonly  in  the  plural.  An  old 
word,  now,  after  a  period  of  almost  complete  disuse, 
resuminji;  its  place  in  literature  and  common  speech. 

be-slde',  he-sides'.  These  words  should  be  discrim- 
inated carefully.     "  There  were  two  beside  him  "  (i.  e.. 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


18  Faulty  Diction 

by  the  side  of  him) ;  "  There  were  two  besides  him  " 
(t.  e.,  in  addition  to  him).  See  vocabulary  of  Funk 
&  Wagnalls  New  Standard  Dictionary. 

be  that  as  It  will.  Erroneously  substituted  for  be  that 
as  it  may. 

bet'ter.  Incorrectly  used  for  more:  as,  "  It  is  better 
than  a  year  since  we  met." 

bc-tween'.  Strictly  applied  to  but  two  objects  or 
groups  of  objects;  a.s,  between  one's  lips,  or  between 
one's  teeth.  But  between  is  often  properly  used  with 
more  latitude  than  this,  as  expressing  the  idea  of  con- 
trast or  opposition  more  clearly  than  among.  Between 
requires  at  least  two  objects,  and  should  not  be  used 
as  in  the  following. 

And  with  a  gap  of  a  whole  night  between  every  one. 
Dickens  Martin  Chuzzlewit  cb.  S,  p.  152.  IE.  &  i,.  '86.1 

bl'cy-cle.     bai'si-kl,  not  bni'sai-cl. 

bid,  V.  Followed  by  the  infinitive  without  to:  as,  "  He 
bade  him  remain."  See  infinitive  in  Funk  &  Wag- 
nalls New  Standard  Dictionary. 

bid'da-ble.  An  expressive  provincialism,  without  lit- 
erary recognition,  in  frequent  use  among  ihe  Irish 
residents  of  the  United  States,  meaning  manageable, 
obedient,  submissive;  as,  "  Servants  are  not  as  bid- 
dable now  as  they  were  before  the  war." 

big<  A  sadly  abused  word,  often  used  colloquially  for 
great.  "  He  is  a  big  man,"  instead  of  "  a  great  man," 
is  in  bad  taste.  A  big  man  may  be  very  far  from 
being  a  great  man.  Washington  was  mentally  and 
spiritually  a  great  man,  physically  a  large  man;  but 
no  one  should  speak  of  the  Father  of  his  Country  as 
a  big  man. 

Bis'niarck.  1  bis'mSrk;  2  bis'mark,  not  1  biz'mark;  2 
big'mark.  At  the  end  of  a  syllable  followed  by  a  con- 
sonant, s  in  German  has  a  sharp,  hissing  sound. 

bis'muth.  1  biz'muth;  2  big'muth,  not  1  bis'muth;  2 
bJs'mCith. 

bit.  Primarily  a  bite,  a  small  piece,  or  by  extension  a 
small  quantity;  as,  a.  bit  of  bread;  a  bit  of  fun.  By 
extension  the  word  is  often  applied  to  liquids;  as, 
there  is  not  a  bit  of  water  on  the  farm.  But  when 
reference  is  to  liquid  to  be  drunk,  it  is  more  discrim- 
inating to  say,  not  a  bit,  but  a  sip. 

blame  on.  Indefensible  slang.  We  blame  a  person  for 
a  fault,  or  lay  the  blame  -ipon  him.  Not,  as  in  a  New 
York  newspaper,  after  the  hst  Presidential  election, 
"  I  do  not  blame  the  defeat  on  the  President,"  but  "  I 
do  not  blame  the  President  for  the  defeat,"  or  "  I  do 
not  lay  the  blame  .  .  .  upon,"  etc.  Here  two  points 
of  view  essentially  different  are  confused. 

both,  a.  &  pron.  When  both  is  used  in  a  negative  sen- 
tence, the  meaning  intended  is  sometimes  doubtful. 
"  Both  applicants  were  not  accepted."  Were  both 
applicants  rejected?  or  was  one  rejected  and  the  other 
accepted?  or  was  neither  applicant  accepted  or  re- 
jected ?  A  similar  confusion  of  sense  occurs  in  some 
negative  sentences  containing  ad,  when  not  is  mis- 
placed. (See  note  under  all,  in  vocabulary  of  Funk 
&  Wagnalls  New  Sta.vdard  Dicticnaky.  It  is  a 
peculiarity  of  both  that  it  can  not  be  negatived  by 
connecting  not  immediately  with  it,  except  elliptically 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  19 

in  sentences  of  unusual  form  that  are  obviously  ar- 
ranged for  the  prevention  of  misunderstanding  —  as 
in  correcting  the  doubtful  mcaninR  of  the  sentence 
cited  above,  "Both  applicants  were  not  accepted." 
If  one  asks,  in  order  to  clear  its  confusing  impression, 
"  Were  both  rejected  ?  "  the  reply  may  properly  be, 
"  Not  both  were  rejected;  one  Wiis  rejected  and  one 
accepted  "  —  a  connection  of  not  with  both  that  ia 
usually  inadmissible.  The  confusion  in  meaning  of  a 
negative  sentence  containing  both  will  be  best  avoided 
by  making  the  sentence  affirmative;  "Both  applicants 
were  rejected,"  "  One  of  the  two  applicants  waa  re- 
jected and  the  other  accepted,"  etc. 

both,  conj.  As  an  adjective  or  pronoun  both  empha- 
sizes the  idea  of  two.  It  has  been  well  defined  as  "  the 
two,  and  not  merely  one  of  them  ";  it  can  not  prop- 
erly, therefore,  be  connected  with  or  refer  to  more 
than  two  objects.  As  a  conjunction,  however,  both 
has  a  more  extended  meaning  and  employment  than 
it  has  as  an  adjective  or  a  pronoiin:  thus,  it  is  per- 
missible to  say,  "  He  lost  all  his  live  stock  —  both 
horses,  cows,  and  sheep."  Both,  as  so  used,  empha- 
sizes the  extent  or  comprehensiveness  of  the  assertion. 
The  use  has  been  challenged,  but  has  abundant  liter- 
ary authority,  and  antedates  Chaucer. 

botb  a-Uke'.  The  sentence  "  They  are  both  alike  " 
suggests  that  (possibly)  one  of  the  two  might  be  alike 
and  the  other  unUke  —  a  suggestion  produced  by  the 
intrusive  emphasis  of  two  implied  in  both.  Both  may 
be  correctly  used  with  like,  but  not  with  alike:  "Both 
sons,  in  looks  and  character,  are  like  their  father,"  but 
not  "  both  alike  "  (that  is,  "  like  each  other  "). 

botb  of  US,  botb  of  tbem,  etc.  Objects  of  critical  cen- 
sure, but  have  the  sanction  derived  from  their  use  by 
the  highest  authorities  in  literature. 

bretb'ren.  1  breth'ren;  2  brgth'rgn,  not  as  three  syl- 
lables breth-er-en. 

bring  and  car'ry.  Ignorantly  interchanged.  A  ser- 
vant asks,  "  Shall  I  bring  it  home  ?  "  when  bothspeaker 
and  hearer  are  far  from  home.  The  question  should 
be,  "  Shall  I  carry  (or  take)  it  home  ?  "  See  synonyms 
for  CARRY,  in  the  vocabulary  of  Funk  &  Wagnalls 
New  Standard  Dictionary.    Compare  fetch. 

burst'ed.  A  false  formation.  The  imperfect  and  past 
participle  of  burst  are  the  same  as  the  present.  "  The 
gun  burst";  "The  bubble  has  [is]  burst."  Vulgarly, 
busted. 

but.    Not  to  be  used  for  <^n.   Archbishop  Trench  says, 
"  It  can  be  regarded  in  no  other  light  but  as  a  riddle, 
where  the  construction  should  be  "  no  other  light 
than." 

but  tbat.  There  is  no  danger  of  slipping  when  but  is  s 
preposition  and  that  is  a  pronoun;  as,  "  1  will  take 
none  but  that,"  where  the  phrase  means  except  that. 
When  both  words  are  used  as  conjunctions,  the  phrsiae 
must  be  employed  with  special  discrimination.  But 
is  in  many  cases  redundant  before  that,  but  is  often 
in  other  cases  required  by  the  sense.  In  "  Each  by 
the  other  would  have  done  the  like  but  thit  they 
lacked  the  courage,"  but  is  essential,  as  introducing  a 
reason  or  consideration  to  the  contrary.  The  omis- 
sion or  insertion  of  but  often  reverses  the  meaning. 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


20  Faulty  Diction 

'*  I  have  no  fear  tlial  he  will  Jo  it  "  and  "  I  have  no 
fear  buttiuit  ne  will  do  it  "  have  contrary  senses,  the 
former  indicating  the  feeling  of  certainty  that  he  rmll 
not  do  i(,  and  the  latter  the  feeling  of  cenainty  that 
he  will  CO  it.  Where  ambiguity  or  haziness  results 
from  the  use  of  but  that,  it  can  ordinarily  be  avoided 
by  changiTi?  the  form  of  the  sentence;  as,  "  There  ia 
no  certamty  but  that  he  will  come  "  may  be  changed 
to  *•  There  is  no  certainty  that  he  will  not  come." 

but  what.  Should  not  be  used  for  the  conjunctive 
expression  but  that.  "  I  don't  know  but  what  I  did  "; 
here  the  relative  can  not  be  disposed  of  grammati- 
cally. But  what  is,  however,  correctly  used  for  the 
preposition  and  pronoun  6u/  that:  as,  "  I  know  noth- 
ing but  what  (i.  c,  nothing  except  that  which)  you 
have  just  told  me." 

but  yet.  Should  not  be  used  when  either  but  or  yet  is 
sufficient  by  itself:  as,  "  Wealth  may  seek  us;  btU 
wisdom  must  be  sought  ";  not  but  yet.  When,  how- 
ever. Archbishop  Trench  says,  "  But  yet  these  paina 
hand  us  over  to  true  pleasures  "  (Study  of  Words  p. 
232),  each  conjunction  has  its  distinct  adversative 
sense.  This  appears  still  more  clearly  in  "  Ye  are  but 
common  men,  but  [on  the  contrary]  yet  (notwithstand- 
ing that  fact]  ye  think  with  minds  not  common  " 
(Coleridge  Wallenstein  2,  3). 

by.  Properly  used  before  the  agent  or  doer;  with  before 
the  instrument  or  means;  as,  "  He  was  killed  by  the 
assassin  with  a  dagger."  But  active  forces  are  oftea 
thought  of  as  agents,  so  that  we  properly  say  "  The 
house  was  destroyed  by  fire."  "  His  friends  were  dis- 
pleased by  the  selection  of  another  chairman  "  means 
that  the  action  displeased  them;  "His  friends  were 
displeased  with  the  selection,"  etc.,  means  that  the 
man  selected  was  not  their  choice.  See  synonyms 
under  by,  in  the  vocabulary  of  Funk  &  Wagnalls 
New  Standard  Dictionaby. 
A  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Hlnkley. 
Oh,  nol  You  mean  "A  gentleman  of  the  name  of 
Hinckley."     This  is  English,  you  know. 

One  may  say  "  I  know  no  one  of  the  name  of 
Brown,"  or  "I  know  no  one  by  the  name  of  Brown  "; 
but  the  meaning  is  different.  One  might  know  a  man 
of  the  name  of  Brown,  but  know  him  by  the  name  of 
Smith.  It  is  better  to  say  simply  "  a  man  named 
JBrown." 

i)y,  bye.  The  noun  is  often  spelled  bye.  We  may  write 
either  by  the  by  or  by  the  bye,  the  last  word  being  a 
noun,  as  in  the  kindred  phrase  by  the  way.  In  by  and 
by  tioth  the  first  word  and  the  last  are  adverbs,  and 
the  form  should  be  by. 


ea-da'vcr.  1  ka-de'var;  2  ca-da'ver,  not  1  ka-dav'arj 
2  €a-da,v'er. 

Cai'ro.  In  Egypt,  1  koi'ro;  2  cl'ro;  in  Illinois,  1  kS'ro; 
2  ca'ro. 

eal'cu-late.  In  some  parts  of  the  United  States  often 
misused  for  intend:  as,  "  I  calculate  to  go  to  New 
York."  Also  misused  for  believe,  think,  sujipose:  as« 
"  The  land  over  there  is  poor,  I  calculate." 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  21 

Cal'cii-la"ted.  Should  be  used  with  careful  discrim- 
ination. In  the  sense  of  adapted  it  is  unquestionably 
good  English  when  the  sense  does  not  contradict  the 
meaning  adapted  by  calculation;  as,  "  The  government 
policy  was  calculated  to  enslave  the  people,"  that  is, 
expressly  devised  for  that  purpose.  But  it  is  often 
inconsistently  used  by  good  writers  in  a  way  that 
contradicts  such  an  interpretation;  as,  "  These  are 
measures  calculated  to  do  harm,"  when  in  fact  the 
measures  were  devised  to  do  good. 

cal'I-ber.  Primarily,  the  internal  diameter  of  a  gun» 
barrel  or  the  like.  Figuratively,  we  may  speak  of 
large  or  small  caliber,  but  high  or  low  caliber  involves 
a  mi.xed  metaphor. 

cal-lig'ra-pby.  Beautiful  writing.  Not  beautiful,  ele- 
gant,  fine,  or  good  calligraphy,  but  beautiful,  elegant, 
etc.,  writing.  Bad  or  poor  calligraphy  is  a  contradic- 
tion in  terms. 

can.  Misused  for  may.  Can  always  refers  to  somo 
form  of  possibility.  An  armed  guard  may  say  "  You 
can  not  pass,"  since  he  has  physical  power  to  prevent; 
hence  the  question  "  Can  I  pass  the  guard  ?  '  is  per- 
fectly natural.  But  where  simple  permission  is  re- 
ferred to  viay  should  be  used.  "  May  I  (not  can  I) 
tise  your  ruler?  " 

ca-prlce'.     1  ka-prls;  2  ca-prl?',  nnl  1  ke'pris;  2  ca'pric. 

Car'ou-sel  (merry«go=round) .  1  kar'u-zel;  2  car'ij-gfil, 
nol  1  ka-rau'zai;  2  ca-rou'gal,  nor  1  ka-ru'zal;  2  ca- 
ru'§al. 

car'ry  on.     An  Americanism  for  frolic. 

case.  Not  to  be  applied  to  persons.  The  expression 
sometimes  used  of  an  eccentric  or  \'icious  person,  "  He 
is  a  case  "  or  "  a  hard  case,"  is  an  objectionable  col- 
loquialism. 

cas"u-al'i-ty.  A  rare  pro^'incialism  for  casualty.  A 
ca-fualty  is  a  contingency  or  accident,  especially  a 
harmful  accident;  casuality  is  the  state  or  quality  of 
being  casual. 

ca-tal'pa.  1  ka-tal'pa;  2  ca-tai'pa,  not  1  ka-tel'pa;  2 
ca-tal'pa. 

cem'e-ter-y.  1  sem'i-ter-i;  2  c5ni'e-tSr-y,  not  1  sem'a- 
tn;  2  cfim'e-try. 

cit'i-zen.  Not  to  be  used  for  person,  except  when  civio 
relations  are  referred  to.  "  All  citizens  are  entitled 
to  the  protection  of  the  law,"  but  not  "  Ten  citizens 
were  walking  up  the  street,"  unless  reference  i.s  had 
to  some  civil  relation,  as  when  opposed  to  soldiersi 
policemen,  residents  of  the  country,  or  the  like. 

Plv'il.     1  siv'il;  2  fiv'il.  not  1  siv'l;  2  ?rv'l. 

claim.  "  He  claimed  that  the  discovery  was  his,"  "  I 
claim  that  this  is  true,"  etc.  Incorrect  if  the  mean- 
ing is  simply  assert  or  maintain:  but  correct  if  the 
meaning  is  assert  with  readiness  to  maintain,  and  con- 
fidence that  the  thing  asserted  can  be  maintained,  with 
the  added  idea  that  it  makes  for  the  advantage  or  sida 
of  him  who  asserts  and  maintains  it. 

Clem'a-tis.  1  klem'a-tis;  2  el5m'a-tls,  not  1  klen** 
at'is;  2  €l5m-5t'Is. 

der'g^y.  Properly  collective,  and  not  to  be  used  to 
indicate  individuals.  Not  "  Twenty  clergy  walked  in 
procession,"  but  "  Twenty  clergymen,"  etc. 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


22  Faulty  Diction 

Clev'er.  In  the  sense  of  good'natured  or  obliging,  a 
popular  Americanism,  the  word  being  rarely  used  in 
the  United  States  in  the  common  EngUsh  sense  of 
dexterous,  capable,  talented,  except  by  the  educated. 

See    TALENTED. 

cll'max.  Not  properly  the  same  as  acme,  though  some- 
times so  used  by  writers.  A  climax  is  strictly  a  series 
of  ascending  steps,  of  which  the  acme  is  the  last  and 
highest.  The  climax  is  the  ladder,  the  acme  the  top 
round  of  the  ladder. 

clotbes.     1  klothz;  2  cloth?,  not  1  kloz;  2  cloz. 

COg-no'men.  1  keg-no'men;  2  eog-no'mSn,  not  1 
kog'no-men;  2  c6g'n6-m6n. 

eol-lect'.  Used  for  gathering  moneys  due,  as  taxes, 
from  various  sources,  has  come  in  mercantile  use  in 
the  United  States  to  apply  to  the  obtaining  of  a  single 
payment,  and  this  sense  has  passed  to  the  derivative 
collectable,  so  that  good  and  collectable  has  become  a 
regular  form  of  endorsement  of  a  certain  class  of  notes. 

Com'pa-ra-ble.  1  kom'pa-ra-bl;  2  c6m'pa-ra-bl,  not 
1  kem-par'a-bl;  2  eom-pslr'a-bl. 

Com-pare'  to  or  with.  We  compare  one  thing  with 
another  to  note  points  of  agreement  or  difference. 
We  compare  one  thing  to  another  which  we  believe  it 
resembles. 

'As  a  writer  of  English  he  [Addison]  Is  not  to  be  com- 
pared, except  \7ith  great  peril  to  his  reputation,  to  at  least 
a  score  of  men.' 

Richard  Grant  White  Words  and  their  Uses  ch.  i,  p. 
79.     [H.  M.  &  CO.  '90.] 

He  should  have  said  with.  If  Addison  is  to  be  com- 
pared to  the  (presumably)  able  writers  referred  to,  it 
can  not  be  with  "  peril  to  bis  reputation."  If  com- 
paring him  with  these  men  is  perilous  to  his  reputation, 
then  for  his  sake  the  comparison  should  not  be  made. 
The  sentence  is  an  attempt  to  combine  two  ideas  in- 
compatible in  a  single  construction,  viz.,  "  If  he  is 
compared  with  these  men,  it  will  be  to  his  disadvan- 
tage," and  "  He  is  not  to  be  compared  to  these  men." 

com-ple'tion.  A  completion  is  necessarily  final;  hence 
the  phrase  final  completion  is  essentially  pleonastic. 

com'pro-mise.  1  kem'pro-maiz;  2  com'pro-mig,  never 
com-prom'is. 

con-dign'.  Loosely  used  in  the  sense  of  severe.  Con- 
dign means  deserved.  To  say  that  one  deserves  con- 
dign punishment  is  tautological;  to  say  that  he  does 
not  deserve  it  is  a  contradiction  in  terms. 

con-do 'lence.  1  ken-do'Iens;  2  con-do'ISng,  not  1 
kan'do-lans;  2  con'do-lSng. 

conjure.  Two  pronunciations  and  two  corresponding 
meanings,  viz.,  conjure.'  1  kun'jsr;  2  eon'jur,  to  prac- 
tise magic,  affect  by  magic;  conjure. ^  1  ken-jur';  2 
con-jur',  to  make  a  solemn  appeal  to. 

con-struc'tion.  Errors  in  grammatical  and  rhetorical 
sonstruction  (embracing  connection  and  arrangement) 
are  legion.  They  may  be  roughly  classified  for  gen- 
eral guidance  in  detecting  and  avoiding  faulty  diction, 
as  below.  The  principle  should  be  kept  in  mind  that 
any  diction  is  faulty  ihat  compels  the  hearer  or  reader 
to  conjecture  what  the  author  probably  meant. 
1.  von<struc'tion,  gram-mat'ic-al.  A  fault  in  this 
respect  13  called  a  solecism.     A  solecism  may  be:  (1) 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  23 

A  violation  of  (jrammatical  concord  (including  agrees 
ment  and  government),  which  requires  the  proper 
grammatical  inflections  in  the  use  of  related  words  in 
the  sentence;  as,  "  Who  (not  whom)  do  they  suppose 
■will  be  appointed?"  "  Each  of  the  four  living  writers 
had  his  (not  their)  writings  recited." 

(2)  A  violation  of  orammatical  arrangement,  which 
requires  the  proper  disposition  of  both  the  principal 
and  the  subordinate  elements  in  the  sentence;  as, 
"  A  good  man  not  only  deserves  the  respect  but  the 
love  cf  his  fellow  beings  "  (rather,  "  A  good  man  de- 
serves not  only  the  respect  of  his  fellow  beings,  but 
also  their  love  ").  "  He  could  see  that  the  room  hud. 
been  swept  with  half  an  eye."  The  following  notice 
was  printed  in  a  religious  journal  published  in  Boston: 

"  The  Rev. is  about  to  resign  the  pastoral 

charge  of  the  people  to  whom  he  has  so  long  minis- 
tered to  their  great  regret."  Their  gratification  when 
informed  that  he  was  at  last  "  about  to  resign  "  must 
have  been  proportionate.  Such  errors  are  similar  to 
those  noticed  below  under  rhetorical  construction,  and 
many  fall  under  both  heads. 

(3)  A  violation  of  grammatical  propriety,  which  re- 
quires the  use  of  the  proper  grammatical  element;  as, 
"  This  is  a  very  different  case  than  (should  be  from) 
that  ";  "  Vices  in  community  "  (properly  t>i  the  com- 
munity) ;  "  The  governor  was  attended  with  (correctly 
by)  his  staff  ";  "  She  wrote  better  than  any  (properly 
any  other)  pupil  in  her  class."  In  the  following  state- 
ment the  error  is  double:  "  This  paper  has  the  ablest 
staff  of  any  of  its  contemporaries.  '  Not  only  dc  we 
have  ablest  of  any,  but  "  this  paper  "  is  included 
among  its  own  contemporaries :  the  statement  should 
have  been  "  an  abler  staff  than,"  etc. 

(4)  A  violation  of  grammatical  precision,  which  re- 
quires the  use  of  the  proper  number  of  words  and  no 
more,  in  expressing  the  thought,  and  forbids  a  con- 
fusing use  of  pleonasm  and  ellipsis;  as,  "  The  rich  and 
the  poor  (not  the  rich  and  poor)  are  alike  mortal  "; 
"  He  treated  his  benefactors  with  supreme  (not  the 
most  supreme)  contempt  ";  "  Had  he  have  laid  low 
(correctly  had  he  lain  low)  he  would  not  have  been 
wounded  ";  "  When  he  was  (properly,  had)  retired  to 
hb  tent,  they  sat  silent  a  long  time." 

2.  con-struc'tlon,  rhe-tor'ic-al.  Faulty  diction  in 
this  respect  ntay  arise  from:  (1)  Improper  use  of  re- 
lated words,  either  by  their  too  remote  separation 
from  their  antecedents,  or  by  their  ambiguous  refer- 
ence; as,  "  God  heapeth  favors  on  his  servants  ever 
liberal  and  faithful  '  (correctly,  "  God,  ever  liberal 
and  faithful,  heapeth  favors  on  his  servants  ") ;  "  M'. 
French  needs  a  surgeon,  who  has  his  arm  broken  "; 
"  Found,  a  white»handled  knife,  by  a  child,  that  has 
a  broken  back  ";  "  Robert  promised  his  father  that 
he  would  pay  his  (whose  ?)  debts." 

(2)  Improper  arrangement  of  the  constituent  mem- 
bers of  the  sentence,  resulting  in:  (a)  Failure  to  pre- 
serve the  true  relation  of  leading  and  subordinate  mem- 
bers; (b)  failure  to  keep  related  elements  in  proper 
proximity;  or  (c)  failure  to  preserve  the  proper  order 
of  dependence  of  the  members;  as,  "  Did  you  take  that 
book  to  the  library,  which  I  loaned  you  ?  "  "  The  body 

for  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


24  Faulty  Diction 

was  dragged  ashore,  and  she  identified  the  remains, 
by  the  clothing,  which  were  much  decomposed." 
"  The  moon  was  casting  a  pale  light  on  the  numerous 
graves  that  were  scattered  before  me,  as  it  peered 
above  the  horizon,  when  I  opened  the  small  gate  of 
the  churchyard  ";  "  And  thus  the  son  the  fervent 
sire  addressed  ";  "  The  rising  tomb  a  lofty  column 
bore." 

(3)  Introduction  of  long  or  involved  parenthetical 
members:  as,  "The  description  Ovid  gives  of  his 
situation,  in  that  first  period  of  his  e.xistence,  seems, 
some  poetical  embellishments  excepted,  such  as,  were 
we  to  reason  o  priori  we  should  conclude  he  was 
placed  in." 

con-tempt'i-bly.  Mistaken  for  contemptuously;  as, 
"  He  spoke  contemptibly  of  them."  A  speech  may  be 
contemptible  in  its  character,  while  it  is  also  contemptu- 
ous toward  its  ob.iect. 

COn"tra-dic'tion  In  terms.  To  be  avoided.  T\Tien 
one  speaks  of  "  the  stern  amenities  of  a  religious  life," 
it  is  as  if  one  should  speak  of  its  harsh  sweetness  or 
severe  gentleness.  Avoidance  of  such  contradictions 
requires  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  signification  of 
words,  and  an  alert  attention  to  the  precise  meaning 
of  every  word  as  used. 

con'tu-ma-cy.  1  ken'tiu-me-sr;  2  c6n'tu-ma-cy,  not 
1  ken-tu'ms-si;  2  con-tu'ma-cy. 

cor 'net.     1  kor'net;  2  cor'ngt.  not  1  ker-net';  2  cor-net'. 

cor'po-ral  pun'ish-nient.  Not  corporeal.  See  syno- 
nyms under  physical,  in  vocabulary  of  Funk  & 
Wagn.vlls  New  St.vndard  Dictionary. 

cos-met 'ic.  1  koz-met'ik;  2  c6z-m6t'ic,  not  1  kes- 
met'ik;  2  cog-met'ic. 

creek.     1  krik;  2  crek,  not  1  krik;  2  crlk. 

cu'li-na-ry.  1  kiu'h-ne-n;  2  cu'li-na-ry,  not  1  knl'u 
na-n:  2  cul'i-ne-ry. 

cu'po-la.  1  kiu'po-la;  2  eu'po-la.  The  word  is  not 
spelled  cupalo,  but  is  sometimes  erroneously  so  pro- 
nounced. 

CU'rl-OUS,  in  such  expressions  as  "  It  is  a  curious  fact," 
has  been  hypercritically  censured.  The  propriety  of 
the  usage  is  unquestionable.  It  is  not  true,  as  soma 
have  affirmed,  that  novel,  queer,  remarkable,  or  strange 
■will  express  all  that  is  meant  by  curious:  for  curious 
adds  to  the  meaning  of  novel  or  remarkable  the  sense 
of  perplexing  or  difficult  (at  least  momentarily)  of  ex- 
planation. 

A  volume  might  be  written  such  as  few  would  rival  in 

curious  interest  which  should  do  no  more  than  Indicate 

the  occasion  upon  which  new  words  .  .  .  first  appeared. 

Trench  Siudi/  of  Words  lect.  v,  p.  184.  [k.  '88.J 


D 

dam'age.  In  the  sense  of  cost,  expense :  "  What  is  the 
damage  ?"  a  vulgar  perversion  of  the  law  sense. 

dan'ger-ous.  Frequently  misused  colloquially  for 
"  dangerously  ill,"  or  "  in  danger  " ;  as,  "  He  is  quite 
sick,  but  not  dangerous,"  instead  of  "  not  dangerous- 
ly "  or  "  not  in  danger."     Dangerous  is  always  active 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  25 

in  signification,  that  which  is  dangerous  being  a  cause 
or  occasion  of  danger  to  other  persons  or  thinKs. 

dec'ade.     1  dck'ed;  2  diScad,  not  1  da-kfd';  2  de-cad'. 

dec'i^niate.  Literally,  to  take  the  tenth  part  or  the 
tenth  mar.,  but  not  to  diminish  or  reduce  in  numbers 
indefinitely.  It  is  inaccurate  to  say  "  Our  troops 
were  terribly  decimated  by  the  enemy's  artillery  " 
when  the  number  killed  is  indefinite. 

de-co'rous.  The  dictionaries  prefer  to  pronounce  this 
word  1  di-ko'rus;  2  de-co'rus,  though  admittinK  a.s  an 
alternative  the  popular  pronunciation  1  dck'o-rus;  2 
dec'o-rus. 

de-fal'cate.  1  di-fal'ket;  2  de-fil'cat,  not  1  de-fol'kgt: 
2  de-fal'cat. 

def'i-clt.  1  def'i-sit;  2  dSf'i-fIt,  not  1  da-fis'it;  2  de- 
fls'it. 

de-mean'.  For  degrade,  debase,  disgrace:  "  How  could 
he  demean  himself  by  such  a  marriage  7  "  A  popular 
misuse  ; —  probably  originating  in  the  confusion  of  de- 
mean with  bemean  —  of  which  examples  may  be  found 
in  the  works  of  leputable  writers.  It  would  be  as 
correct  and  reasonable  to  use  demeanor  in  the  sense  of 
debasement,  which  is  never  done.  To  demean  is  to  6e- 
have  or  conduct  (oneself). 

de-pos'l-ta-ry,  de-pos'l-to-ry.  Discriminated  in  the 
best  usage,  depositary  denoting  a  person  with  whom, 
and  depository  a  place  in  which  anything  is  deposited 
for  safe»keeping. 

depths.     Depths,  not  deps. 

des'ig-nate.     Pronounce  s  in  the  first  syllable,  not  z. 

de-slst'.  Modern  usage  seems  to  sustain  the  pronun* 
ciation  of  z  in  the  second  syllable  rather  than  s;  -zist, 
but  both  are  heard. 

des'pl-ca-ble.     des'pi-ca-bl,  not  des-pic'a-ble. 

dif'fer-ent  from.  Different  to,  though  common  in 
England,  is  not  sustained  by  good  authority.  Tiie 
best  literary  usage  is  uniformly  from,  following  the 
analogy  of  the  verb  differ :  one  thing  differs  from  or  ia 
different  jrom  another. 

differ  from,  diifer  with.  While  these  phrases  have 
both  been  used  for  "  have  a  different  opinion,"  or  the 
like,  differ  with  is  not  so  good  as  differ  from  in  that  use, 
being  rathei  reserved  for  "  have  a  difTerence  with  "  — 
expressing  conflicting  opinion  to.  Differ  from  is  thus 
properly  the  correlative  of  different  from,  and  is  always 
to  be  used  when  the  sense  is  "'  be  different  from." 
Say  "  Washington  differed  from  Hamilton  in  tempera- 
ment, but  he  did  not  differ  with  him  in  political 
theory." 

dl-rect'ly.  As  a  quasi»conjunction  in  the  sense  of  as 
soon  as;  as,  "  Directly  he  turned  he  fell  ";  a  common 
but  objectionable  British  colloquialism,  introduced  to 
some  extent  into  the  United  States.  The  use  of  im.- 
mediately  in  like  construction  has  even  less  authority. 

dis'ci-pline.  Accent  the  first,  never  tne  second  syl- 
lable. 

dls"com-mode',  at  one  time  a  favorite  word,  because 
convenient  and  useful,  is  apparently  obsolescent,  and, 
in  the  United  States  at  least,  incommode  is  taking  its 
place. 

dls-course'.  1  dis-kors';  2  dTs-cors',  not  1  dis'cors;  2 
dis'cors,    the   latter   pronunciation,    as   used    in   the 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


26  Faulty  Diction 

United  Staiea,  being  a  refinement  of  fashion  borrowed 
from  England. 

dls-pense'.  We  dispense  charity  or  medicine  to  those 
who  need  it;  the  service  of  incompetent  persons  may 
be  rfi.spf 7jsed  with.  The  truth  may  be  dispensed  — 
spoken;  or  it  may  be  dispensed  with  —  left  unuttered, 
done  without. 

dls"re-meni'ber.  Out  of  literary  use  ■  obsolete  in  Eng- 
land; still  in  colloquial  use  in  parta  of  the  United 
States. 

■Well,  1  dUremembeT  about  that,  but  I  dew  remember,* 

Whitcher  Widow  Bedotl  Papers  ch.  12,  p.  129.  [m.  b.  p.'74.J 

di'vers,  dl-verse'.  1  dai'verz;  2  dl'vers;  1  di-viJrs';  2 
di-vers'.  By  inattentive  persons  not  unfrequently 
interchanged.  Divers  implies  severalty;  diverse,  dif- 
ference. Hence  we  say:  "  The  Evangelists  narrate 
events  in  divers  manners,"  but  "  The  views  of  the  two 
parties  were  quite  diverse."  Divers  has  nearly,  if  not 
quite,  passed  out  of  popular  use. 

do.  As  a  substitutionary  verb,  strictly  to  be  used  only 
where  some  part  of  do  precedes;  as,  "  I  did  not  say,  as 
some  do."  But  from  its  exceeding  convenience,  it  is 
frequently  used  without  reference  to  this  rule:  as,  "  I 
will  not  affirm,  as  some  do  (.sc.  affirm) ."  Disagreeable 
repetition  of  a  preceding  verb  is  often  thus  avoided. 

dock.  Misused  for  pier  or  wharf.  See  the  vocabulary 
of  Fdnk  &  Wagn.\.lls  New  Standard  Dictionary. 

do'nate.  Incorrectly  used  as  simply  meaning  give.  As 
meaninp;  to  bestow  as  a  gift  or  donation,  it  has  been 
vehemently  objected  to  by  some  critics,  but  the  word 
has  certainly  acquired  a  place  in  popular  use,  and  is 
no  more  rendered  unnecessary  by  the  preWous  exis- 
tence of  give  than  donation  is  by  the  previous  existence 
of  gift.  Donate  should  be  used  of  the  bestowal  of  im- 
portant, ceremonious,  or  official  gifts  only. 

don't.  As  a  contraction  of  do  not,  admitted  by  the  best 
writers,  but  as  a  contraction  of  does  not,  inaccurate 
and  disallowed.  "  They  don't  [do  not]  care."  "  He 
does  not  know  any  better,"  contracted  into  doesn't, 
net  don't.  The  uncontracted  forms  are  preferred  al- 
most uniformly  in  literary  use,  but  in  familiar  speech 
the  contractions. 

dra'ma.     1  dra'ma;  2  dra'ma,  not  dray'ma. 

dram'a-tist.  1  dram'a-tist;  2  dram'a-tist,  not  dray'- 
ma-tist. 

drive.  Conveniently  distinguished  from  ride,  but  often 
misused  for  it,  a  misuse  defended  by  some.  See 
vocabulary. 

Rather  subtle  distinctions  are  made  by  Englishmen 
in  using  drive  intransitively.  An  Englishman  drives, 
even  when  he  does  not  hold  the  reins  and  guide  the 
horses,  if  the  vehicle  in  which  he  is  conveyed  (espe- 
cially if  for  pleasure)  be  one  in  which  an  English  gen- 
tleman might  be  supposed  to  drive  the  horse  or  horses, 
as  in  a  phaeton,  drag,  dog»cart.  or  the  like:  but  he  does 
not  drive  in  a  coach  unless  its  form  and  purpose  bring 
it  within  the  class  of  vehicles  already  named.  Still 
less  does  he  drive  in  a  public  conveyance. 

The  distinction  between  the  two  words  —  Tiding  and 
driving  —  which  a  pseudo-fashion  baa  attemptcxl  to  es- 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  27 

tabllsb,  both  In  EnRland  and  In  the  llnltwl  Stutea.  Is  mors 
pedaulry,  without  a  pretense  of  I)hlllllo^•lcal  uutiiorlty. 
Gould  iJood  Kntf.  p.  s-t.  (w.  j.  vv.  '37.] 

drowned.     1  draund;  2  dround,  not  1  draiind'ed;  8 
dround'Sd. 


each,  eve'ry .  Not  constructed  with  plural  of  pronoun 
or  verb.  Not  "  Each  of  the  students  have  their  own 
room,"  but  "  Each  student  has  his  (or  her)  own  room." 
See  the  words  in  vocabulary. 

cat.  et,  as  past  tense  of  eai.  i4/e  is  now  preferred  by 
many,  but  the  usage  is  debatable. 

eat 'en.  1  It'n;  2  et'n,  true  pp.  of  eat;  not  he  has  eat 
(et),  but  he  has  eaten,  his  dinner. 

ef-fect',  accomplish,  to  be  carefully  distinRuished  from 
af-fect',  to  influence.  "  Tlie  union  of  all  good  citi- 
zens may  effect  a  reform."  "  The  principles  adopted 
at  the  outset  will  affect  the  character  of  the  reform." 

ef-flu'vl-a.  Not  to  be  used  as  a  singular;  the  word  is 
the  Latin  plural  of  effluvium.  Hence,  we  may  say, 
"  The  effluvia  (foul  odors)  from  the  sewers,"  but  not 
"  A  disagreeable  effluvia." 

el'tber.  Misused  for  any:  as,  "  the  United  States  or 
either  [properly  any]  of  them." 

Cike,  V.  Properly,  "  to  add  to  so  as  to  make  barely 
sufficient;  piece  out."  Sometimes  incorrectly  em- 
ployed in  the  sense  of  "  use  sparingly,"  t.  e.,  to  take  as 
little  as  possible  from,  in  direct  contravention  of  its 
original  meaning. 

eld'er,  cid'est,  old'er,  old'est.  Older  and  oldest  may 
be  said  either  of  persons  or  of  things,  while  elder  and 
eldest  apply  to  persons  only.  These  latter  are  besides, 
strictly  speaking,  limited  to  members  of  the  same 
family,  while  older  and  oldest  are  not  so  limited;  "  He 
will  succeed  to  the  title  in  the  event  of  the  death  of 
his  elder  brother  ";  "  Franklin  was  older  than  Wash- 
ington." The  first'born,  though  perhaps  dying  a 
mere  infant,  still  remains  the  eldest  son  (or  the  elder, 
if  there  were  but  two  sons,  the  word  thus  indicating 
priority  also) ;  but  we  speak  of  the  oldest  branch  of  the 
family. 

e-lec'trl-cute,  e-Iec"trI-eu't!ou.  Recent  words,  in- 
vented to  avoid  awkward  circumlocution,  now  widely 
accepted  and  not  likely  to  be  discarded,  altho  con- 
demned by  many  of  the  current  critics.  As  neotcr- 
iflms  they  supply  an  antecedent  blank.  The  forms 
above  given  are  preferable  to  electrocute,  electrocution. 

el'e-gant.  Often  misused  as  a  general  terra  of  ap>- 
proval.  That  which  is  elegant  is  marked  by  refine- 
ment, grace,  or  symmetry,  or  by  choiceness  or  deli- 
cacy of  structure,  form,  or  action.  A  dress  may  be 
elegant,  but  such  expressions  as  "  an  elegant  field  of 
corn,"  "  an  elegant  ride,"  or  "  an  elegant  time  "  are 
glaring  lexical  improprieties. 

e-lev'en.  1  i-lev'n;  2  e-16v'n,  not  1  e-lev'en;  2  S-lSv'Sn, 
nor  lev'n. 

Slm.     elm,  not  1  el'sm;  2  el'em. 

<Ise.  Not  to  be  followed  by  but,  but  by  than.  "  It  ifl 
laothing  else  than  pride."     Else  is  often  used  redun-' 


For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


28  Faulty  Diction 

dantly.     "  No  one  else  but  him  "  adds  nothing  to  "  no 
due  but  him." 

For  the  use  of  the  sign  of  the  possessive  case  with 
else  in  such  phrases  as  somebody  else,  see  else,  in  vo- 
cabulary. 

em'i-grant,  im'mi-grant.  Not  infrequently  con- 
founded by  some  educated  persons  of  careless  speech. 
If  a  person  is  considered  as  migrating  from  a  country, 
he  is  an  emigrant;  if  to  a  country,  he  is  an  immigrant. 

eni"ploy-ee'.  Now  fully  Anglicized,  and  best  spelled 
as  an  English  word  and  pronounced  as  English,  em*- 
plei-1'.  As  an  English  word  it  is  a  useful  correlative 
of  employer.  The  attempt  to  treat  the  word  aa 
French  leads  to  absurdities;  as,  "  a  strike  took  place 
among  the  female  employes,"  instead  of  employees,  the 
feminine  form. 

en'gine.  Pronounce  the  "  i  "  as  in  "  pin  "  not  as  in 
"  pine." 

en-tbuse'.  An  ill«formed  word,  prevalent  in  some 
parts  of  the  United  States;  now  a  colloquialism  mean- 
ing to  yield  to  or  display  enthusiasm. 

eph-em'e-ra.  A  plural  misused  for  the  singular  noun, 
which  is  ephemeron.  A  false  plural,  ephemerse,  is 
sometimes  invented. 

ei»'i-thet.  In  strict  sense  always  an  adjective  or  ad- 
jectival term  or  phrase  whose  import  may  be  either 
good  or  bad.  Improperly  and  carelessly  applied  by 
many  to  nouns,  as  coward,  thief,  fool,  villain,  though 
properly  applicable  to  the  adjectives  only,  cowardly, 
thievish,  foolish,  villainous.  A  popular  notion  exists 
th!)t  to  apply  epithets  to  a  person  is  to  vilify  or  traduce 
him,  although  brave,  honest,  wise  are  as  truly  epithets 
as  cowardly,  etc. 

ep"i-zo-ot'lc.  1  ep'i-zo-et'ik;  2  8p"i-z6-6t'Ic,  not 
ep'i-zoo'tic. 

ep'ocb.     1  ep'sk;  2  Sp'oc,  not  e'pock. 

e'qual-ly  as,  equally  as  well,  equally  as  great,  etc. 
Omit  the  as;  "  That  will  do  equally  well  "  (or  "  quite 
as  well");  "This  will  produce  misfortune  equally 
great." 

e"qua-nim'i-ty.  Derived  from  the  Latin  sequus, 
equal,  +  animu?,  mind.  "  Equanimity  of  mind  "  is 
therefore  pleonastic;  the  words  "  of  mind  "  should  be 
omitted. 

cq'ui-page.     1  ek'wi-pij;  2  ec'wi-pag.  not  e-quip'age. 

ere.     1  ar;  2  ir.  not  1  ir;  2  er,  poetic  form  for  before. 

er"y-slp'e-las.  1  er'i-sip'i-les;  2  6r"y-slp'e-las,  not  1 
Tri-sip'lis;  2  e'ri-slp'lis. 

Eu"ro-pe'an.  1  yuVo-pI'an;  2  yu'ro-pe'an,  not  1 
yu-ro'pi-an;  2  y\j-ro'pI-an. 

e-ven'tu-ate.  Rejected  contemptuously  by  some 
critics,  and  called  by  Dean  Alford  "  another  horrible 
word."  It  seems  to  have  been  first  used  in  the  United 
States,  but  is  employed  by  good  writers  in  England, 
and  apparently  meets  a  lexical  need.  It  is  not  a  mere 
imdiscriminated  synonymn  of  result,  terminate,  culr 
minate.  See  the  word  in  vocabulary  of  Funk  & 
Wagnalls  New  Standard  Dictionary. 

And  very  Hke  donate  Is  eventuate.  Event  has  no  true 
Bynonym;  eventuate  expresses  an  Idea  not  otherwise  ex- 
pressible by  a  single  word;  and,  as  pertains  to  Its  form. 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  29 

It  sorts  with  accentuate  and  gruUuatc.    Eventuate  JustiUcd, 
eveniualion  Is  justified  Inclusively. 

FiTZfiDWARD  Hah,  False  PMlologv  p.  771.  [s.  •72.1 

e'ren  up.  v.  [Local,  U.  S.)  Inadmissible,  being  a  slang 
expression,  though  much  used  in  the  South  and  West, 
signifying  "  get  even  with,  exact  compensation  from. 

ev'er.  Misused  for  never-  as,  "  We  seldom  or  ever  see 
those  forsaken  who  tmst  in  God,"  which  should  be 
"  seldom  or  never."  Bat  "  seldom  if  ever  "  would  be 
correct;  «.  e.,  ''  in  few  or  no  instaucea  "  or  "  in  few 
»/any." 

ev'er  so.  The  phrases  ever  so  great,  little,  much,  many, 
etc.,  meaning  '*  very  "  or  "  exceedingly  great,"  etc., 
may  be  carefully  discriminated  from  never  so  great, 
little,  etc.,  meaning  "  inconceivably  great,  little,"  etc. 
Compare  never  so;  never  so  grfat,  in  the  vocabu- 
lary of  Fdnk  &  W.\.oNALLs  New  Standard  Diction- 
ary. The  tendency  has  been  to  use  both  ever  so  and 
never  so  loosely  and  vaguely. 

eve'ry.  Not  to  be  misused  for  all.  The  expression  "  I 
have  every  confidence  in  him  "  may  be  employed  to 
mean  "  I  have  entire  (or,  not  so  properly,  all)  confi- 
dence in  him  ":  an  incorrect  usage,  since  ever;/  is  dis- 
tributive, referring  to  a  number  of  things  that  may 
be  considered  separately,  while  confidence  is  used  as  a 
mass'noun;  or  it  may  mean  "  I  have  every  kind,  or 
every  form,  of  confidence  ":  a  recent  literary  usage  not 
uncommon  in  good  English. 

e'vil.  1  I'vl;  2  e'vl,  not  1  I'vil;  2  e'vil,  a  miserable  af- 
fectation common  in  the  pulpit,  nor  1  i'vul;  2  e'vul,  a 
common  vulgarism. 

ex 'it.     1  eks'it;  2  eks'it,  not  egz'it. 

ex'o-dus.  Misused  as  a  general  synonym  for  depar- 
ture :  properly  used  in  English  especially  of  a  somewhat 
multitudinous  going  out  or  departure  from  a  country 
or  place,  like  that  of  the  Israelites  from  Egypt.  Not 
"  My  exodus  was  hasty,"  but  "  My  departure,"  if 
away  frcrni  a  place  or  point;  "  My  exit,'  if  out  of  a 
place,  as  a  room;  as,  "  His  departure  (not  exodus)  from 
home  was  hasty";  "An  incendiary  fire  led  to  his 
hasty  exit  (not  exodus)  from  the  house  ";  "A  fire  in 
the  theater  led  to  a  hasty  exodus  of  the  spectators." 

ex-pect'.  Very  widely  misused  both  in  England  and 
the  United  States  for  think,  believe,  suppose:  also  for 
suspect.  Expect  refers  to  the  future,  usually  with  the 
implication  of  interest  or  desire.  Yet  "  I  expect  it  is," 
or  even  "  I  expect  it  was,"  is  very  common. 

ex-pect'  like'ly,  ex-pect'  prob'a-bly.  It  is  not  the 
expectancy,  but  the  future  event,  that  is  likely  or 
jyrohabte.  One  may  say  "  I  think  it  is  likely,"  "  I 
think  it  [the  act,  event,  or  the  like]  probable,"  or  "  It 
eeems  likely  "  or  "  probable."  When  another  person's 
expectancy  is  matter  of  conjecture,  one  may  say 
"  You  probably  expect  to  live  many  years  ";  t.  e.,  "  I 
think  it  probable  that  you  expect,"  etc.;  but  "  Probably 
you  expect,"  etc.,  would  be  better. 

ex-pe'rl-ence.  Whether  as  verb  or  noun,  should  not 
be  applied  to  what  does  not  enter  or  has  not  entered 
into  personal  connection  with  the  feelings  or  life.  Ik 
would  of  course  be  absurd,  as  some  of  the  hypercritics 
suggest,  to  say  "  The  haycrop  is  the  most  deficient 
experienced  in  many  years."     But  not  only  is  the  use 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used^  see  page  8. 


30  Faulty  Diction 

of  the  verb  to  express  what  is  or  has  been  matter  of 
personal  experience  perfectly  legitimate  —  as  whea 
one  is  said  "  to  experience  joy,  sorrow,  hope,"  or  the 
like  —  but  it  is  also  true  that  the  usage  has  been  well* 
nigh  universal  among  the  best  writers  of  English  from 
the  16th  century  to  the  present  time.  See  Fitz- 
EDWARD  Hall  False  Philology  pp.  31-36.   [s.  '72.| 

ex-per'i-ment.  Since  an  experiment,  is  a  trial,  the  col- 
loquial phrase  "  try  the  experiment  "  uses  the  word  as 
a  cognate  accusative,  as  in  do  the  deed,  die  the  death. 
The  usual  expression  in  speaking  of  a  formal  or  exact 
trial  is  "  make  the  experiment."  A  man  of  science 
conducts  (a  series  of)  experiments  for  the  discovery  of 
truth ;  he  performs  experiments  before  a  class  to  dem- 
onstrate that  truth. 

ex'pli-ca-ble.  1  eks'pU-ka-bl;  2  6ks'pli-ca-bl,  not  1 
eks-plik'8-bl;  2  6ks-plic'a-bl. 

ex-pIoit%  V.  In  the  meaning  "  utilize  or  employ  in 
selfish  schemes,"  a  comparatively  recent  importation 
from  the  French,  but,  owing  to  its  usefulness  and 
brevity,  almost  fully  naturalized.  James  Russell 
Lowell  says  "  They  did  not  exploit  the  passion  of 
patriotism."  My  Study  Windows  p.  89.  (o.  &  co. 
71.]  Socialistic  writers  tell  us  "  The  capitalists  ex- 
ploit the  people." 

ex'qul-site.  1  eks'kwi-zit;  2  6ks'kwi-§Tt,  not  1  eka- 
kwiz'it;  2  fiks-kwig'it. 

ex-tem'po-re.  1  eks-tem'po-n;  2  fiks-tSm-po-re,  not 
1  eks-tem'por;  2  6ks-tem-p6r. 


fac'et.     1  fas'et;  2  fSc'St,  not  1  fg'set;  2  fa'cSt,  nor  1 

fe'zet;  2  fa'z6t. 
fau'cet.     1  fe'set;  2  f^'c6t,  not  1  fas'et;  2  faq'St. 
fault.     At  fault  and  in  fault  are  to  be  discriminated. 

Hounds  are  at  fault  when  they  have  lost  the  scent,  and 

know  not  which  way  to  turn  in  order  to  recover  it. 

A  man  is  at  fault  when  hs  chooses  wrongly  or  makes  a 

mistake;  he  is  in  fault  when  he  has  done  something 

blameworthy. 
fa'vor-Ite.    1  fe'var-it;  2  fa'vor-it,  not  1  fe'var-oit;  3 

fa'vor-it. 
Feb'ru-a-ry.     1  feb'ru-e-n;  2  f6b'ru-a-ry,  not  1  feb'yu- 

e-ri;  2  f6b'yu-a-ry.     The  r  is  omitted  by  many  who 

are  not  careful  in  speech. 
fe'male.    Often  misused  for  woman.    In  the  following 

quotation  woman  should  be  substituted  for  female: 
With  the  repugnance  not  unnatural  to  a  female,  etc. 
In  the  following  sentence  female  is  appropriately 

used  as  an  expression  of  contempt: 

He  did  not  bid  him  go  and  sell  himself  to  the  first  female 

he  could  find  possessor  ol  wealth. 

Female  is  correctly  used  also  as  the  correlative  of 

male,   whether   the   latter  be  expressed   or  not;   as, 

"  Statistics  of  population  show  that  there  is  an  excess 

oi  females  in  many  of  our  eastern  cities." 
fem'i-nine.     1  fem'i-nin;  2  fSm'i-nln,  not  1  fem'i-nain; 

2  ffim'i-nin. 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  31 

fetch.  Properly,  to  gj  and  bring  :  hence  go  and  fetch  is 
pleonastic.  If  go  must  be  said,  bring  should  be  used, 
not  fetch.  Hence,  "  Go  and  brtng  the  package,"  or 
"  Fetch  the  package." 

fi-na'le.  1  fi-nd'le;  2  fl-nfi'lg,  not  foi-nel';  2  fl-n&l',  nor 
I  fi-nal'i;  2  fi-nil'e. 

fl'nal  syl'la-bles.  The  prevalent  popular  fault  of 
obliterating  or  clipping  short  final  syllables,  as  in 
bar'l,  curt'n,  po'm,  po't,  etc.,  should  be  carefully 
guarded  against. 

fl-nancc'.  1  fi-nans';  2  fi-nSn?',  not  1  foi'nans;  2  fl'nSng, 

fl-Dan'cIal.  1  fi-nan'^hal;  2  fi-niln'shal,  not  1  fui'aaa'> 
slidl;  2  fT'nSn-shal. 

first,  a.  The  prevalent  literary  usage  (almost  univer- 
sal in  Great  Britain)  sanctions  the  forms  like  "  the 
two  bravest,"  "  the  two  strongest,"  "  the  two  first," 
"  the  two  last,"  etc.;  it  is  nevertheless  more  discrim- 
inating and  would  be  better  to  say,  as  many  norz  do 
say,  in  accordance  with  the  suggestion  of  the  gram- 
marians, "  the  first  two,"  etc.,  "  the  last  two,"  etc., 
whenever  the  two  form  a  first  pair  or  group  of  persona 
or  things,  corresponding  to  or  distinguished  from  a 
last  pair  or  group.  The  two  first  should  bo  used  in 
referring  to  two  persons  or  things  each  of  which  is  at 
the  head  of  its  own  series,  or  both  of  which  are  fore- 
most in  the  same  class  not  divided  into  pairs. 

first,  adv.  Often  introduced  superfluously;  as,  "  I  must 
first  he  invited  before  I  attend  ";  first  adds  nothing  to 
the  sense. 

first'Iy.  First,  being  itself  an  adverb,  does  not  need 
the  -ly  that  is  frequently  added.  In  an  enumeration 
Bay  first,  secondly,  thirdly,  etc.,  rather  than  fitslly,  etc. 

fix,  r.  The  best  usage  avoids  such  expressions  as  "  Fix 
the  furniture  in  the  room,"  "Fix  the  books  on  the 
shelves,"  when  the  meaning  is  set  or  arrange  them. 
We  fix  a  statue  on  its  pedestal,  a  stone  in  the  wall. 
Fix  in  the  sense  of  repair  is  a  convenient  American 
and  British  colloquialism,  rooted  in  popular  use.  In 
the  United  States,  especially  among  mechanics  and 
artificers,  to  fix  a  thing  is  to  do  to  or  with  it  what- 
ever is  needed  to  make  it  answer  its  purpose,  whether 
by  arrangement  adjustment,  repair,  or  otherwise; 
to  fix  a,  furnace,  fix  a  clock,  or  the  like,  is  to  put 
it  in  complete  working  order  by  whatever  process. 
Up  is  often  added,  and  the  expression  is  applied  even 
to  matters  of  business;  as,  "  Fix  that  matter  up  some- 
how ";  t.  e.,  make  some  kind  of  agreement  or  adjust- 
ment that  may  dispose  of  it.  The  best  speakers, 
while  giving  the  popular  term  a  certain  colloquial 
license,  prefer  wherever  practicable  some  more  dis- 
criminating word  or  phrase.  Fix  in  the  sense  of  dis' 
able,  injure,  or  kill,  and  fix  up  in  the  se.ise  of  dress  ele- 
gantly, are  vulgarisms. 

fix,  n.  Misused  for  condition :  as,  "  Things  are  in  a  bad 
fix." 

flac'eid.     1  flak'sid;  2  flSe'cid,  not  1  flas'sid;  2  flSc'cid. 

flor'Id.     1  fler'id;  2  fl6r'id,  not  1  flo'rid;  2  flo'rid. 

folk.  As  used  in  Old  English,  a  collective  noun  mean- 
ing "  people,"  having  a  plural  of  the  same  form  mean- 
ing "  peoples."  In  later  English  the  plural  form  folks 
was  introduced.  In  present  usage  the  two  plurals 
have  become  differentiated  in  sense,  so  that  folk  means 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


32  Faulty  Diction 

"  peoples,"  or,  as  a  collective,  "  people,"  and  folkg, 
especially  with  an  adjective  (widely  used  colloquially 
in  spite  of  the  drawing«room  fastidiousness  of  some 
writers)  means  "  persons,"  and  the  two  are  no  longer 
to  be  employed  indiscriminately.  We  say  "  The  co- 
llie"; are  a  feeble /o/A  (not  folks)  ";"  The  old /oifcs  (not 
folk)  at  home  ";  "  FolkAore  is  an  interesting  study." 

for»  to,  etc.  Redundant  or  improper  in  such  expres- 
Gionsas"  More  than  you  thinli /or  ";"  Where  are  you 
going  tof" 

for-bear'  from.     From,  needless  and  not  good  English. 

for-hld'.  Not  "  I  forbid  you  from  doing,  '  but  "  I  for- 
bid your  doing,"  or  "  I  forbid  you  to  do." 

for'ml-da-ble.  1  fer'mi-de-bl;  2  for'mi-da-bl,  not  \ 
fer-mid'a-bl;  2  for-mld'a-bl. 

for'ward,  for'wards.     See  backward,  backwards. 

foun'tain.  1  faun'tin;  2  foun'tin,  not  1  fauu'tn;  2 
foun'tn. 

from.  Sometimes  improperly  used  for  of:  "  He  died 
from  cholera  "  should  be  "  He  died  o/ cholera."  But 
we  sa.v  correctly  "  He  died  from  the  effects  of,"  etc., 
where  effect  suggests  the  idea  of  cause  from  which  the 
result  proceeded. 

•fill.  Adjectives  with  this  ending  do  not  properly  take 
-er  or  -est,  to  form  the  comparative  or  superlative. 
Not  graceful,  gracefulest,  but  more  graceful,  most  grace' 
ful. 

fu'ture,  o.  Not  properly  to  be  used  of  past  time  or 
events.  Not  "  The/ii(ure  career  of  Milton  was,"  but 
"  the  subsequent,"  etc.  When,  however,  a  matter 
already  past  is  related  from  the  point  of  view  of  some 
person  or  persons  concerned,  so  that  the  statement 
has  the  effect  of  an  indirect  quotation,  the  use  of  the 
future  is  permissible;  as,  "  He  saw  that  hia  whole 
future  career  depended  on  this  decision." 


gath'er.    1  gath'ar;  2  gSth'er,  not  1  geth'ar;  2  gStb'er. 
geii"e-al'o-gy,  mln"er-al'o-gy.     Too  often  mispro< 

nounced  oeneology,  mineralogy. 
gen'er-al-ly.     1  jen'ar-el-i;  2  gSn'er-al-y,  not  1  jen'«. 

ral-i;  2  g6n'ral-y. 
gen'u-lne.     1  jen'yu-in;  2  gSn'yu-In,  not  1  jen'yu-ainj 

2  g6n'yu-in. 
ge-og'ra-phy.     1  ji-eg'ra-fi;  2  ge-6g'ra-fy,  not  1  jeg*- 

ra-fi;  2  gog'ra-fy. 
ger"ry-man'der.     Pronounced  with  hard  g,  1  ger'i- 

man'dar;  2  gfir'y-man'der,  not  1  jer-;  2  g6r-:  named 

froro  Elbridge  Gerry. 
ger'und.    1  jer'und;  2  gSr'tind,  not  1  jl'rnnd;  2  ge'rdnd. 
gey'ser.     1  g  d^zar  or  gai'sar;  2  gy'§er  or  gy'ser. 
gher'kin.     1  gur'km;  2  ger'kin,  not  1  jur'km;  2  ger'kin. 
gr'gan-te'an.     1  jai'gan-ti'an;   2   grgan-te'an,  not  1 

jai-gan'ti-an;  2  gl-gSn'te-an. 
God.     1  ged;  2  god,  not  \  gad;  2  gad,  nor  1  gad;  2  g6d. 
gon'do-Ia.     1  gen'do-la;  2  gon'do-la,  not  1  gen-do'ia; 

2  gon-do'la. 
got.     Properly  having  the  sense  of  acquired,  procured, 

and  the  like,  but  improperly  used  to  express  mere 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  33 

possession.  Not  "  The  hound  has  uot  long  ears,"  be- 
cause he  has  done  nothini?  to  get  them;  he  haa  thcna; 
but  "  He  has  got  the  rabbit  "  (which  he  has  been  chas- 
ing). I  have  (70i  a  pencil  when  I  buy  or  find  it.  The 
form  gotten,  now  partially  restored  to  use  after  being 
almost  obsolete,  has  the  advantage  of  not  beine  liable 
to  such  confusion.  Those  who  would  readily  say 
"  The  man  has  got  a  heart,"  meaning  simply  "  he 
has  "  one,  would  not  think  of  saying  "  He  has  gotten 
a  heart."  Either  got  or  gotten  may  be  used  whea 
there  has  been  a  getting,  but  not  otherwise. 

gOT'ern-ment.  The  n  of  the  second  syllable  must  be 
heard;  1  guv'arn-ment  or  -mant;  2  g6v'ern-m5nt  or 
-meut,  not  1  guv'ar-ment;  2  gov'er-mfint. 

grad'u-ate,  r.  Popularly  used  as  signifying  "  to  re- 
ceive a  degree  at  the  end  of  a  course  of  study ;  become 
a  graduate."  The  institution  graduates  the  candi- 
date, t.  e.,  admits  him  to  a  degree,  or  marks  him  with 
a  degree,  at  the  end  of  a  course  of  instruction;  the 
man  is  therefore  graduated,  and  objection  is  often 
made  to  "  He  graduated,"  but  this  double  meaning 
(passive  and  middle)  is  frequent,  and  in  this  word  weU 
established. 

griev'ous.  1  griv'us;  2  grev'u.s,  not  1  griv'i-us;  2 
grev'i-iis  nor  1  grlv'yus;  2  grev'yus. 

grl-mace'.  1  gn-mes';  2  gri-maj,  not  1  grim'Sa;  2 
grlm'ac- 

grow.  In  the  sense  of  become,  objected  to  by  some 
critics,  especially  in  what  they  deem  the  self-contra- 
dictory  phrase  to  grow  small,  is  good  idiomatic  English. 
Fitzedward  Hall  (False  Philology  p.  82)  quotes  Dr. 
Johnson  as  using  "  grow  fewer,'  "  grew  able,"  "  grow 
less,"  etc.,  Steele  and  Gray  as  using  "  grow  less,"  and 
Macaulay  as  using  "  grow  smaller.' 

guild.  Pronouncd  1  gild;  2  gild,  not  1  gaild;  2  gild. 
The  older  spelling  gild  is  now  revived  and  by  many 
preferred. 

gy'ro-scope.  1  jui'ro-skop;  2  gy'ro-sc5p,  not  1  goi'ro- 
ekdp;  2  gy'ro-seop. 

H 

ll.  The  so'callcd  "  dropping  of  the  h,"  common  among 
the  lower  classes  in  England,  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of 
language.  It  is  not  as  when  foreigners  fail  to  pro- 
nounce a  letter  because  of  some  difficulty  in  uttering 
it,  for  the  very  persons  who  say  "  'all  "  ior  hall,"  'igh 
for  high,  and  "  'ill  "  for  hill,  will  tell  you  "  That's  hall 
in  your  heye,"  and  will  say  of  a  sick  man  "  'e's  very 
hill,  sir."  A  waiter  will  inquire  "  'Am  and  heggs, 
sir  ?"  The  fault  is  simply  one  of  misplacement,  aa 
whimsical  as  it  is  obstinate. 

had  bave.  Improperly  used  in  such  expressions  as 
"  Had  I  have  known  it."  Had,  used  elliptically  for  t/ 
J  had,  itself  cairies  the  contingency  back  into  the  past, 
and  there  is  no  need  of  an  added  have  to  do  the  same 
thing.  "  Had  I  known  this,"  "  Had  he  done  that," 
are  conditional  clauses,  each  complete  in  itself  as  ex- 
pressing past  possibility. 

had  OUgbt.  The  use  of  any  part  of  the  verb  have  with 
ought  is  a   vulgarism.     Not   "  I   had  ought  to  have 

For  Keys  to  Sj'mbols  used,  see  page  8. 


34  Faulty  Diction 

written,"  but  simply  "  I  ought  to  have  written  ";  not 
"  He  hadn't  ought  to  have  done  it,"  but  "  He  ought  not 
to  have  done  it." 
bad  rath'er,  had  bet'ter.  Forms  disputed  by  certain 
grammatical  critics,  from  the  days  of  Samuel  Johnson, 
the  critics  insisting  upon  the  substitution  of  would  or 
should,  as  the  case  may  demand,  for  had :  but  had  rather 
and /larffteHer  are  thoroughly  established  English  idioms 
Laving  the  almost  universal  popular  and  literary  sanc- 
tion of  centuries.  (See  note  under  have,  vi.,  in  the 
vocabulary  of  Funk  &  Wagnalls  New  Standakd 
Dictionary.)  "  I  would  rather  not  go  "  is  undoubt- 
edly correct  when  the  purpose  is  to  emphasize  the 
element  of  choice  or  will  in  the  matter;  but  in  all 
ordinary  cases  "  1  had  rather  not  go"  has  the  merit  of 
being  idiomatic  and  easily  and  universally  understood. 

I  had  rather  be  a  doorlteeper  In  the  house  of  my  God  than 
to  dwell  in  the  tents  of  wickedness.  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  10. 

If  for  "  You  had  better  stay  at  home,"  we  substitute 
"  You  should  belter  stay  at  home,"  an  entirely  different 
meaning  is  expressed,  the  idea  of  expediency  giving 
place  to  that  of  obligation. 

Would  rather  may  always  be  substituted  for  had  rather. 
Miijht  rather  would  not  have  the  same  meaning.  WoulS, 
and  should  do  not  go  well  with  better.  In  one  instance  can 
Is  admissible.  '  I  can  better  afford,'  because  can  is  espe- 
cially associated  witti  alford.  We  may  say  migld  better,  but 
It  has  neither  the  sanction,  the  idiomatic  force,  nor  the 
precise  meaning  of  had  better.  Samuel  Ramsey  Eng, 
Lang,  and  Gram.  pt.  li,  ch.  6,  p.  413.  (G.  P.  P.  '92.] 

hain't.  A  common  vulgarism  for  have  not,  haven't, 
and  made  worse,  if  possible,  by  being  used  also  for 
has  not  or  hasyi'l:  as,  "  I  hain't,"  "  He  hain't,'  etc. 
"  I  haven't,"  "  He  hasn't,"  are  permissible,  "  haven't 
I?",  "hasn't  he?"  are  acceptable  in  conversation. 
But  when  the  subject  precedes  in  the  first  person 
singular  and  the  plural,  it  is  preferable  to  abbreviate 
the  verb;  as,  "  I've  not,"  "  You've  not,"  etc. 

hand'write",  v.  A  recent  coinage  to  avoid  circumlo- 
cution, used  to  a  limited  extent,  especially  in  business 
circles,  as  the  correlative  of  typewrite;  as,  "  Was  the 
letter  typewritten  ?  "  "  No;  it  was  handwritten."  In 
literary  usage  "  written  by  hand  "  is  the  prevailing  and 
preferable  form. 

hand'write",  n.  "  Did  you  notice  his  peculiar  hand- 
write'}"  This  is  illiterate  and  inexcusable.  Hand- 
writing is  the  proper  English  word,  for  which  there  is 
no  occasion  to  coin  a  modern  barbarism. 

band'y.  Properly  said  of  articles  on  which  one  may 
lay  the  hand,  or  possibly  of  persons,  as  attendants, 
ready  at  hand  for  service.  Applied  to  neighborhood, 
as  "  He  lives  quite  handy,"  or  "  His  house  is  handy  (or 
handy  by),"  the  word  is  a  scarcely  admissible  collo- 
quialism. "  Near,"  "  near  by,"  "  close  at  hand,"  or 
the  like  should  be  used  in  preference. 

hap'pcn  in.  For  "to  come  in  accidentally":  an 
Americanism. 

have.  Used  in  a  past  tense  following  another  past 
tense;  a  use  often  indiscriminately  condemned,  though 
sometimes  proper  and  necessary.  (1)  Imjrroper  con- 
struction. Where  what  was  "  meant,"  "  intended," 
or  the  like  was,  at  the  time  when  intended,  some  act 


For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  35 

<RS  of  going,  writing,  or  spoakini;)  future  in  its  purpose 
and  not  past,  and  therefore  not  to  bo  expressed  by  a 
past  tense:  as,  "  He  meant  to  have  gone,"  for  "  tlo 
meant  to  go  ";  "  I  meant  to  hare  wrilteti  to  you,  but 
forgot  it,"  for  "  I  meant  to  u-rite,"  etc.;  "  I  had  in- 
tended to  have  spoken  to  him  about  it,"  for  "  I  had 
intended  to  speak,"  etc.;  "  1  should  like  to  have  gone," 
for  "  I  should  have  liked  to  go."  The  infinitive  with 
to  expresses  the  relation  of  an  act  as  so  conceived,  so 
that  both  analogy  and  prevalent  usage  require 
"  meant  to  go  "  instead  of  "  meant  to  have  gone." 
Such  construction,  altho  occasional  in.stance.s  of  it 
still  occur  in  works  of  authors  of  the  highest  literary 
reputation,  and  still  often  heard  in  conversation,  is 
now  generally  regarded  as  ungrammatical. 

(2)  Proper  construction.  The  doubling  of  the  past 
tenses  in  connection  with  the  use  of  have  with  a  past 
participle  is  proper  and  necef:sari/  when  the  completioa 
of  the  future  act  was  intended  before  the  occurrence 
of  something  else  mentioned  or  thought  of.  Atten- 
tion to  this  qualification,  which  has  been  overlooked 
in  the  criticism  of  tense=forniation  and  connection,  is 
especially  important  and  imperative.  If  one  says  "  I 
meant  to  have  visitea  Paris  and  to  have  returned  to 
London  before  my  father  arrived  from  America,"  the 
past  infinitive  in  the  dependent  clause  is  necessary  for 
the  expression  of  the  completion  of  the  acts  purposed. 
"  I  meant  to  visit  Paris  and  to  return  to  London  before 
my  father  arrived  from  America,"  may  convey  sug- 
gestively the  thought  intended,  but  does  not  express 
it. 

he,  she,  her,  him,  etc.  Incorrect  use  of  pronouns,  in- 
excusable in  the  educated,  is  illustrated  in  such  ex- 
pressions as  "  If  I  were  him  (or  her),  1  would,"  etc. 
It  should  be  "  If  I  were  he  (or  she),  I  would,"  etc. 
Compare  be. 

heap,  heaps.  In  the  general  sense  of  "  a  great  num- 
ber "  or  "  quantity,"  a  colloquialism  that  approaches 
a  vulgarism.  While  it  is  true  that  this  sense  was  in- 
cluded in  the  word  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  period,  it  is 
also  true  that  we  now  have  quantity,  number,  crowd, 
and  many  other  words  of  similar  general  application, 
and  heap  has  been  well  differentiated  to  mean  "  a  col- 
lection of  things  laid  or  thrown  together  in  a  body  so 
as  to  form  an  elevation  " ;  so  that  to  speak  of  "_  a  heap 
of  friends,"  or  of  "  doing  one  heaps  of  good,"  seems 
incongruous  and  is  unnecessary  and  inadmissible. 

hearth.     1  hdifti;  2  harth,  not  1  hUrfh;  2  herth. 

heav'en.  Final  syllable  shortened,  1  hcv'n;  2  hSv'n; 
not  1  hev'an;  2  hSv'en. 

height.     1  hoit;  2  hit,  not  1  huitth;  2  hitth. 

hei'nous.  1  he'mis;  2  he'nus,  not  1  hi'nus;  2  he'niis, 
nor  1  hen'yus;  2  hen'yus. 

heip.  "  No  more  than  I  can  help  "  is  a  favorite  collo- 
quialism that  defies  analysis.  Help,  being  used  in  the 
sense  of  avoid  or  prevent,  requires  a  negative  after  the 
comparative  with  than,  so  that  the  phrase  would 
regularly  be  "  No  more  than  I  can  not  help,"  which  is 
harsh,  and  to  many  ridiculous.  Better  avoid  the  ex- 
pression, using  "  No  more  than  is  necessary,"  or  somp 
similar  phrase. 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


36  Faulty  Diction 

belp'mate,  help'meet.  Forms  originating  doubtless 
in  a  corruption  of  Gen.  ii,  18,  "  An  help  meet  (i.  e., 
suitable)  for  him,"  but  having  nevertheless  the  sanc- 
tion of  such  names  as  Milton,  Cardinal  Newman,  and 
Macaulay,  and  of  wide  usage. 

Hen'ry.     1  hen'n;  2  hen'ry,  not  1  hen'er-i;  2  hSn'er-y. 

Her-cu 'Ic-au.  1  har-kiu'li-an;  2  her-cu'le-an,  not  1 
hur'kiu-li'on;  2  her'cu-le'an. 

hls'to-ry,  his-to'ri-an.  With  a  or  an  ?  The  form  pre- 
ferred by  the  Standard  Dictionary  is  a,  to  avoid  the 
tendency  of  the  h  sound  to  quiesce  after  an :  but  many 
writers  in  Great  Britain  and  some  in  the  United  States 
use  an  before  an  unaccented  h.  See  quotation,  for  the 
latter  usage;  and  compare  an,  in  vocabulary  of  Funk 
&  Wagnalls  New  Standard  Dictionart. 

We  cannot  aspirate  with  the  same  strength  the  first 
syllables  in  the  words  history  (first  syllable  accented)  and 
historian  {Hrst  syllable  unaccented),  and  In  consequence, 
we  commonly  say  a  history,  but  an  hislorlan. 

ALFORD  Queen's  English  par.  83,  p.  34. 

hoist.     1  heist;  2  hoist,  not  1  hoist;  2  hist. 
hor'o-scope.     1  her'o-skop;  2  hor'o-seop,  not  1  ho'ro- 

skop;  2  ho'ro-scop. 
hos'pi-ta-b!e.     1   hes'pi-te-bl;  2  hos'pi-ta-bl,   not  1 

hes-pit'a-bl;  2  hos-pit'a-bl. 
bost'Ier.     1  hes'lar  or  es'lar;  2  hos'ler  or  os'Ier.     Al- 
ways drops  the  t,  but  preferably  retains  the  initial 
aspirate,   tho  there  is  good  authority  for  its   omis- 
sion. 
bow  ?    Should  not  be  used  to  ask  for  the  repetition  of 
a  word  or  a  sentence  that  was  not  readily  understood. 
Do  put  your  accents  in  the  proper  spot; 
Don't, —  let   me   beg   you, —  don't  say  "Howl"  tor 
'*  What  ?  " 

O.  W.  Holmes  A  Rhymed  Lesson  st.  43. 

bow  do  ?  how  de  ?     Unpardonable  abbreviations  of 

How  do  you  do  f 

bow-ev'er,  adv.  However  has  proper  and  elegant  use 
as  an  adverb;  as,  "  However  wise  one  may  be,  there 
are  limits  to  his  knowledge."  But  its  use  for  how  and 
ever  should  be  avoided  as  a  vulgarism;  as,  "However 
could  he  do  it  ?  "  while  its  employment  in  the  sense  of 
"  at  any  rate;  at  all,"  as  in  the  example,  "  He  tried  to 
keep  me,  but  I'm  going,  however,"  is  provincial  and 
archaic. 

bow-ev'er,  conj.  Not  to  be  used  indiscriminately,  aa 
it  often  is  used,  for  but  or  notwithslandinp.  Not  "  He 
■was  sick;  not,  however,  so  much  so  as  he  thought,"  but 
"  He  was  sick,  but  not  so  much,"  etc.;  since  the  rela- 
tion is  sharply  adversative.  "And  Moses  said.  Let 
no  man  leave  of  it  till  the  morning.  Notwithstanding 
(not  but)  they  harkened  not  unto  Moses  ";  since  the 
preceding  thought  is  represented  as  no  impediment 
to  the  succeeding  one.  "  I  have  not  seen  her  since 
our  quarrel;  however  (not  but,  or  notwithstanding),  £ 
expect  to  be  recalled  every  hour  ";  since  the  relation 
is  one  of  concession  and  simple  transition,  however 
denoting  that  "  in  whatever  manner  or  degree  what 
precedes  is  valid,  what  follows  nevertheless  stands 
firm."  See  Maetzner  English  Grammar  vol.  3,  pp. 
361-3. 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  37 

bu'man.  In  thesenseof /iKnian  6fi;i{7.as,  "  No  human 
ever  climbed  that  mountain":  a  usaec  at  present 
either  archaic,  or  colloquial  and  humorous. 

hun'<1red.  Ihuu'dred;  2  hua'drid,  not  1  Lun'dcrd;  2 
hOn'dCrd. 

fay-drop 'a-thy,  l  hai-drop'a-flu;  2  hy-dr6p'a-thy,  not 
1  hoi-dro-path'i;  2  hy-dro-pilth-y.  A  widely  accepted 
word  formed  after  the  supposed  analogy  of  allovalhy, 
homeopathy,  and  intended  to  signify  "  water-cure 
or  "  water'treatment,"  but  etyniologically  signifying 
"  water'sufTering."  The  vernacular  compound  word 
water'cwe  is  preferable  on  etymological  and  lexical 
grounds. 


I,  me.     Inaccurately  interchanged.    See  be  and  tou 

AND    I. 
1-de'a.     1  oi-dra;  2  I-de'a,  not  1  oi'di-a;  2  i'de-a,  nor  \ 

ai-dir';  2  i-der'. 

I-dc'al.     1  Qi-dl'al;  2  I-de'al.  not  1  ai-dil';  2  f-d6l'. 

id'i-om,  ld"I-o-inat'lc  phrase.  A  clear  understand- 
ing of  idioms  and  idiomatic  phrases  is  made  necessary 
by  the  fact  that  so  much  of  futile  criticism  of  faulty 
diction  originates  in  misapprehensions  of  their  nature 
and  functions.  For  the  general  uses  of  the  expres- 
sions, see  the  vocabulary. 

Idiom,  or  idiomatic  phrase,  as  here  used,  is  a  phrase 
the  meaning  of  which  can  not  be  deduced  from  its 
component  parts.  The  following  are  examples  of 
Idiomatic  phrases;  to  bring  about  (accomplish)-  to 
bring  to  pass :  to  carry  out  (make  effective ;  accomplish) ; 
to  come  by  (obtain) ;  to  go  hard  with  (be  painful  or 
harmful  to);  to  put  up  with  (tolerate;  endure);  to  net 
about  (begin).  An  examination  of  these  phrases 
shows  that  the  meaning  of  each  (when  used  in  its 
idiomatic  sense)  belongs  to  the  phrase  as  a  single  ele- 
ment, and  is  not  a  composite  effect  made  by  joining 
the  meanings  of  its  parts.  The  peculiarity  oi  such 
phrases  becomes  apparent  if  we  compare  them  with 
phrases  that  are  not  in  this  sense  idiomatic;  as,  "  To 
go  to  the  city,"  "  To  sleep  late  in  the  morning,"  where 
every  word  has  a  meaning  that  is  contributed  to  the 
meaning  of  the  phrase. 

When  thoughts  are  expressed  freely  and  naturally, 
they  usually  take  form  in  idioms,  or,  at  least,  in  lan- 
guage in  which  idioms  abound.  The  employment  of 
idioms  is,  therefore,  strongly  recommended  by  literary 
critics;  and  however  much  they  may  depart  from  the 
ordinary  forms,  the  fixed  idioms  of  a  language  are  not 
proper  subjects  for  the  grammaticasters. 

Dreary  and  weary  must  the  style  be  that  can  all  be 
parsed.  Idioms  are  short,  forcible,  and  great  favorites 
with  people  who  would  rather  work  or  think  than  talk; 
and  they  abound  in  the  best  writers.  Yet  idioms  are  ex- 
pressions that  taken  literally  are  either  absurd,  or.  what  is 
worse,  untrue.  'There  is  no  water  here,'  'All  the  lamps 
weTU  GUI.'  The  Dutch  say.  "Daas  maar  op.'  where  the 
English  say,  "Get  out,'  which  means  Depart,  but  all  three 
phrases  taken  literally  are  nonsensical  — "Dance  more  up,' 
'Procure  out.'  'From  part.'  Samuel  Ramsey  Eno.  Lang, 
and  Gram.  pt.  ii,  ch.  6.  pp.  411-412.  [o.  p.  p.  '92.1 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  sec  page  8. 


38  Faulty  Diction 

Idiomatic  phrases  should  be  carefully  distinguished 
from  figurative  phrases,  or  phrases  in  which  the 
words  have  their  ordmary  connections  and  relations 
but  are  used  figuratively;  as,  to  break  the  ice;  to  carry 
coals  to  Newcastle;  to  ring  the  clianyes  on;  lb  set  a  trap 
for;  to  stand  in  one's  own  light.  It  is  not  well  to  mul- 
tiply figurative  phrases,  since  their  very  frequent  use 
tends  to  obscure  thought  and  weary  the  attention. 

It  is  probable,  however,  that  many,  perhaps  most, 
idiomatic  phrases  originated  in  figurative  speech,  and 
afterward  passed  into  the  idiomatic  stage  by  insen- 
Bible  transitions,  becoming  in  the  transitional  stage 
Intermediate  phrases;  as,  to  carry  throiigh  (accom- 
plish; efTect);  to  hold  forth  (utter,  especially  puolicly); 
to  put  down  (suppress) ;  to  put  off  (defer) ;  to  go  without 
(be  or  do  without). 
If.  The  use  of  if  for  whether  is  properly  condemned,  ex- 
cept in  colloquial  and  poetic  language,  for  the  obvious 
reason  that  when  there  is  a  common  word  meaning 
precisely  a  certain  thing,  a  word  meaning  precisely 
another  tiling  should  not  be  used  for  it  without  some 
special  ground.  "  Go  and  see  if  (instead  of  whether] 
the  package  has  come  "  is  common  colloquial  use.  It 
id  doubtful  whether  in  this  case  the  indolence  that  ia 
so  often  the  warrant  for  using  a  shorter  word  j'lstifiea 
its  use,  while  such  use  is  certainly  not  justifiable  if  it 
results  from  ignorance  or  sheer_  carelessness.  The 
exigencies  of  rhythmic  construction  may  call  for  the 
employment  of  if  for  whether  in  poetry,  and  it  has 
the  support  of  Milton,  Shakespeare,  Dryden,  Prior, 
Cowper,  Tennyson,  Lowell,  and  other  musters  of 
English. 

I'll  .  .  .  try  your  penitence  if  it  be  sound. 
Or  hollowly  put  on. 
Shakespeare  Measure  for  Measure  act  ii,  so.  4. 

-lie.  Words  with  this  final  syllable  have  exceptions 
with  i  long,  and  one  who  is  in  doubt  about  a  word  so 
ending  should  consult  the  vocabulary.  To  pronounce 
fertile,  hostile,  etc.,  otherwise  than  1  fur'til;  2  fer'til, 

1  hes'td;  2  hos'til,  etc.,  is  antiquated. 

ill.  The  use  of  ill  and  sick  difTers  in  the  two  great  Eng- 
lish'speaking  countries.  Ill  is  used  in  both  lands 
alike,  but  the  preferred  sense  of  sick  in  England  is  that 
of  "  sick  at  the  stomach,  nauseated,"  while  in  the 
United  States  the  two  words  are  freely  interchange- 
able. Still  Tennyson  and  other  good  writers  freely 
use  sick  in  the  sense  of  ill.  (See  synonyms  for  ill- 
ness in  Funk  &  Wagxalls  New  Standard  Diction- 
ary.) The  tendency  of  modern  usage  is  to  remand 
ill  and  well  (referring  to  condition  of  health)  to  the 
predicate.  We  say  "  A  person  who  is  ill,"  rather  than 
"  An  ill  person  ";  "  I  am  well,"  but  not  "  I  am  in  a 
U'ell  state  of  health."  Ill  in  the  abstract  sense  of  bad 
or  wicked  is  obsolescent,  or  ratLer  practically  obsolete 
except  in  poetic  or  local  use. 

Ill'y,  adv.  The  -ly  is  superfluous,  since  ill  is  itself  an 
adverb  as  v.-ell  as  aa  adjective;  as,  "  He  behaved  ill" 
(not  illy). 

Im'pe-tus.     1  im'pi-tus;  2  Im'pe-tiis,  not  1  im-pl'tas; 

2  Im-pe'tiis. 
Im-me'di-ate-Iy.     See  directly. 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  S. 


Faulty  Diction  39 

in,  in'to.  Often  confused.  In  denotes  position,  stnte, 
etc.;  into,  tendency,  direction,  destination,  etc.;  aa, 
"  I  throw  the  stone  into  the  water,  and  it  lies  in  the 
water."  It  is  not  uncommon  to  find  such  misuse  evea 
by  reputable  writers;  as,  "  I  divide  these  pleasures  in 
(for  into)  two  kinds  ";  "  To  keep  stragglers  into  (for 
in)  line."  "  Come  in  the  house  "  is  a  colloquialism. 
The  proper  expression  is  always  "  Come  into  the 
house."  But  where  no  object  is  expressed,  we  say 
"  come  in,"  "  go  in."  Faith,  confidence,  trust,  and 
the  like,  are  viewed  as  reaching  from  the  one  exercis- 
ing them,  and  resting  in  the  one  toward  whom  they 
are  exercised.  Hence  we  speak  of  putting  confidence 
in  one. 
Put  not  your  trust  in  princes.  Ps.  cxivl,  3. 

In-com'pa-ra-ble.  1  in-kom'pa-rs-bl;  2  In-cOm'pa- 
ra-bl,  not  1  in"kem-par'a-bl;  2  In"ci)m-p&r'a-bl. 

in-den'tlon.  The  printers'  indention  is  not  (as  it  ia 
often  said  to  be)  a  shortened  form  of  indentation,  but 
an  original  word  from  dent  idint),  "  a  denting  in,  a 
depression,"  and  hence  is  the  proper  word,  rather 
than  indentation,  to  express  the  idea. 

The  indention  of  an  em  only  ...  [Is]  scarcely  percep- 
tible In  a  long  line. 

Thomas  MacKei,lar  American  Prinur  p.  132. 

In'dex.  Two  plurals  —  indices  in  the  sense  of  mathe- 
matical or  other  abstract  signs,  indexes  in  the  sense 
of  tables  of  contents. 

In-ex'pli-ca-ble.  1  in-eks'pli-ka-bl;  2  In-Sks'pli-ca-bl, 
not  1  in"eks-plik'a-bl;  2  In'Sks-plie'e-bl. 

In-fe'ri-or.  In  constant  and  approved  use  in  such  ex- 
pressions as  "  an  inferior  nan,'  "  goods  of  an  inferior 
sort  ";  corresponding  to  suck  expressions  as  "  a  su- 
perior man,"  "  materials  of  superior  quality  "  —  all  of 
which  may  be  regarded  as  elliptical  forms  of  speech. 
In  reply  to  Dean  Alford's  challenge  of  this  usage 
(Queen's  English  Tf  214,  p.  82),  it  is  enough  to  say  that 
life  would  be  too  short  to  admit  of  all  such  ellipses 
being  supplied,  even  if  such  supply  would  not  make 
speech  too  prolix  for  common  use. 

in  bur  midst,  in  tlieir  midst.  These  locutions  ante- 
date Chaucer,  but  have  recently  gained  currency 
especially  in  religious  usage,  as  substitutes  for  "  in 
the  midst  of  us,"  "  in  the  midst  of  them."  The 
shorter  phrases  have  abundant  English  analogy,  as 
has  been  shown  by  Fitzedward  Hall  {Modern  Enolish 
p.  48),  but,  contrary  to  the  impression  of  many,  they 
have  no  warrant  in  Scripture,  but  are  avoided  just 
where  they  might  have  been  most  conveniently  used. 
For  where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  Id  my 
name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them.        Matt,  xvlll,  20. 

in-quir'y.  1  in-kwuir'i;  2  In-kwlr'y,  not  1  in'kwi-ri;  2 
In'kwi-ry. 

In  so  far  as.  The  tn  is  redundant.  So  far  as  is  com- 
plete in  itself  as  an  adverbial  phrase,  and  expresses 
all  that  is  meant.  The  incorrect  phrase  is  probably 
modeled  on  inasmuch  as,  which,  however,  is  gram- 
matically different,  much  being  a  noun  and  requiring 
the  preposition  to  give  it  adverbial  force  (in  such 
amount  or  measure  as) ,  while  far  is  itself  an  adverb, 
needing  no  preposition. 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


40  Faulty  Diction 

In'ter-est-Ing.     1  in'tbr-est-ir) ;  2  In'ter-€st-ing,  not  1 

in'tar-est'lo;  2  In'ter-fst'ing. 
In-trigue'.  1  in-trig';  2  In-trig',  not  1  in'trlg;  2  In'trig 
In-trude',  In-tru'sion.  When  used  of  persona,  always 
in  unfavorable  sense.  In  using  the  words  we  do  not 
need  to  say  that  the  person's  presence  is  undesired,  or 
that  the  intrusion  is  undesirable.     Yet  Gould  says: 

A  third  person  intruding  on  a  Ute-a-Ute,  or  anywhere  else 
ichere  he  is  not  wanted.  Good  English  p.  103. 

In-Test'.  Properly  used  only  of  considerable  transac- 
tions, and  always  with  a  suggestion  of  permanent 
proprietary  right.  One  does  not  invest  (except  in  a 
humorous  sense)  in  a  postage-stamp. 

In'vite.  1  in'vait;  2  In'vit,  n.  A  needless  barbarism, 
since  we  have  the  correct  and  established  term  in- 
vitation. 

Ir-rep'a-ra-ble.  1  i-rep'a-re-bl;  2  I-r6p'a-ra-bI,  not  1 
ir're-par'a  bl;  2  h""re-p4r'a-bl. 

Ir-reT'o-ca-ble.  1  i-rev'o-ka-bl;  2  I-rgv'o-ea-bl,  not  1 
ir'ra-vo'ka-bl;  2  Ir"re-v6'ca-bl. 

It.  Often  used  in  such  manner  as  to  violate  the  prin- 
ciples of  grammatical  and  rhetorical  construction,  aa 
when  referring  to  any  one  of  several  words  or  clauses 
preceding,  or  perhaps  to  some  idea  merely  implied  or 
hinted  at  in  what  has  gone  before,  as  in  the  following: 
"  A  statute  inflicting  death  may,  and  ought  to  be,  re- 
pealed, if  it  be  in  any  degree  expedient,  without  its 
being  highly  so  ";  in  which  "  if  it  be  "  should  be 
replaced  by  "  if  such  repeal  be,"  and  "  its  "  should  be 
omitted. 

In  general,  personal  and  relative  pronouns  with 
ambiguous  reference  to  preceding  words  or  clauses  in 
the  sentence  are  stumbling=blocks  of  inexperienced  or 
loose  writers.     See  construction. 

t-tal'ic.     1  i-tai'ik;  2  i-tal'ic,  not  1  ai-tal'ik;  2  t-tiil'ic. 

I'yo-ry.     1  oi'vo-n;  2  i'vo-ry,  not  1  ai'vn;  2  i'vry. 


Jeop'ard-lze.  Has  been  criticized  as  "  foolish  and  in« 
tolerable,"  as  having  been  improperly  derived  from 
jeopard,  and  as  not  being  needed,  since  jeopard  (with- 
out the  -tze)  means  the  same  thing:  to  which  reply 
has  been  made,  that  jeopardize  was  quite  as  probably 
derived  from  jeopardy,  that  the  termination  -ize  haa 
the  advantage  of  suggesting  that  the  word  is  a  verb, 
and  that  in  spite  of  the  adverse  criticism  it  has  the 
best  of  authority  in  usage,  and  is  gradually  and  quita 
generally  superseding  the  shorter  form  jeopard. 

Jew,  Ue'brew,  Is'ra-el-ite.  Often  properly  used  as 
synonyms.  But  in  strict  use  Hebrew  is  the  ethno- 
logical and  linguistic  name,  Israelite  the  national 
name,  and  Jew  the  popular  name  of  the  people;  as, 
"  The  Egyptians  oppressed  the  Hebrews  '  ;  "  David 
was  the  typical  king  of  the  Israelites  ";  "  The  Jews 
revolted  under  the  Maccabees."  The  three  names 
have  their  special  application  to  the  people  in  the  pre- 
monarchial  period  (Hebrew),  in  the  monarchial  period 
(Israelite),  and  in  the  period  subsequent  to  the  return 
from  the  Babylonian  captivity  (Jcu). 

For  fieys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  41 

Jew'el-ry.  Jewelry  is  a  collective  noun,  and  not  prop*- 
erly  to  be  used  of  individual  Rcms  or  ornamenta.  Not 
"  She  wore  magniticent  jeujeirj/,"  rather  "  magnificent 
jewels  ";  not  "  His  stock  of  jewels  waa  large,  '  rather 
"  His  stock  of  jewelry  was  large." 

Joc'und.  1  jek'und;  2  j6c'und,  not  1  jo'kond;  2 
jo'cund. 

Join  Is'sue.  Not  to  be  confounded  with  to  take  issue. 
To  take  issue  means  "  to  deny  " ;  to  join  issue,  in  strict 
usage,  "  to  admit  the  right  of  denial,"  but  not  also 
"to  agree  in  the  truth  of  the  denial."  In  the  example 
"  In  their  career  father  and  son  meet,  join  issue,  and 
pursue  their  nefarious  occupation  in  conjunction," 
join  issue  is  improperly  used  for  "  agree  "  or  "  come 
to  an  agreement."  To  join  issue  is  properly  "  to  fake 
opposite  sides  of  a  case,"  etc.  See  issue,  in  vocabu- 
lary of  Fdnk  &  Wagnalls  New  Standard  Diction- 
ary. See  also  Hodgson  Errors  in  the  Use  of  Enylish 
pt.  i,  p.  40. 

teur'nal.  Directly  from  the  French,  which  derives  it 
from  Latin  diurnalis,  whence  also  English  diurnal; 
properly  means  daily.  "  Daily  journal  "  means 
daily  daily,"  while  "  weekly  journal,"  "  monthly 
journal,"  "  quarterly  journal  "  (weekly  daily,  monthly 
daily,  quarterly  daily),  forms  of  expression  in  popular 
use,  and  approaching  very  near  to  good  literary  use, 
appear  to  be  instances  of  violent  cataohresis.  The 
usage  has  probably  arisen  from  attaching  to  journal 
the  loose  meaning  of  "  a  publication,"  or  "  record  of 
events  or  news."  Even  one  of  the  great  quarterlies 
writes  of  "  the  course  uniformly  pursued  by  this  jour- 
nal." It  would  be  more  discriminating,  and  hence 
better,  to  confine  the  word  to  its  strict  meaning  of 
"  daily  newspaper,"  and  to  say  "  weekly  newspaper," 
"  monthly  "  or  "  quarterly  magazine  "  or  "  review," 
or  simply  "  monthl.v  "  or  "  quarterly." 

Jowl.      1  jol  or  JQul;  2  jol  or  jowl. 
list.     1  just;  2  just,  not  1  jest;  2  jSst. 


K 

kept.     1  kept;  2  kgpt,  not  1  kep;  2  kSp. 

ket'tle.     1  ket'l;  2  kCt'l,  not  1  kit'l;  2  klt'I. 

kind'er.  For  kind  of,  pronounced  as  one  v  ord,  kaind'er. 
is  merely  a  low  vulgarism.  The  same  remark  holds 
of  sorter  similarly  used  for  sort  of. 

kln'der-gar"ten.  1  kin'dar-gar'tn;  2  kln'der-gar'tn, 
not  1  kin'dsr-gar'dn;  2  kln'dar-gar'dn 

Idnd'ness.  "  He  wishes  to  express  gratitude  for  many 
kindnesses  ";  sometimes  objected  to  on  the  ground 
that  kindness  is  an  abstract  noun.  Nothing  is  com- 
moner than  the  making  of  abstract  nouns  into  con- 
crete in  this  way;  "  affinities  ";  "  charities  ";  "  His 
tender  mercies  are  over  all  His  works."  Besides,  by 
"  many  kindnesse.i  "  is  meant,  not  "  much  kindness," 
nor  "  great  kindness,"  but  "  kindness  manifested  ia 
many  forms  or  shown  on  many  occasions,  many  acts 
of  kindness."     Compare  every  confidence. 

kind  of.  Does  not  require  the  indefinite  article  before 
the  foUo^-ing  noun.     Not  "  What  kind  of  a  man  ia 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8* 


42  Faulty  Diction 

he  ?  "  but  "  What  kind  of  man."  Not  "  It  is  a  kind  of 
an  animal,"  but  "  A  kind  o/ animal." 

kind  of.  An  American  provincialism;  as,  "  I'm  kind 
of  tired,"  for  "  I  am  somewhat  tired  "  or  "  a  litdh 
tired." 

kins'man.  To  be  preferred  in  certain  cases,  on  the 
ground  of  greater  clearness,  to  relative,  relation,  con- 
nection. A  kinsmen  is  a  "  man's  kin,"  or  one  of  his 
own  blood;  as,  A  brother  or  a  cousin  is  one's  ktnsman: 
a  man's  relative  or  relation  is  one  who  is  related  to  him, 
either  by  blood,  as  a  brother  (a  kinsman),  or  by  law, 
as  a  brother=in"law  (not  a  kinsman),  or,  loosely,  by 
some  other  bond.  Connection  is  still  more  vague  and 
unsatisfactory.  The  same  remarks  apply  to  kios'- 
wom"an. 

kltch'en.     1  kiA'en;  2  kich'gn,  not  1  kidh'n;  2  kich'n. 

knight.  Such  terms  as  knight  baniierit,  kniyht  baronet, 
knight  coinpanion,  and  knight  templar  are  each  two 
nouns  in  apposition.  In  the  plural  each  word  takes 
the  inflection;  as,  knights  templars,  etc.  In  knight 
errant  the  second  word  is  an  adjective,  and  the  term 
means  "  errant  knight."  A  few  such  English  terms 
follow  the  French  idiom  in  placing  the  adjective  after 
the  noun,  but  not  the  French  practise  of  pluralizing 
the  adjective;  as,  knights  errant,  laws  merchant,  bodies 
politic.  Some  terms  of  these  kinds  have  been  often 
erroneously  treated  as  compounds,  knighl'errant  being 
particularly  frequent  in  print.  They  are  not  con,- 
pounds,  the  adjective  properly  qualifying  its  noun  as 
a  separate  word,  and  apposition  of  two  nouns  having 
a  similar  effect  as  to  relative  force,  but  attributing  a 
named  office,  rank,  or  the  like,  instead  of  quality  or 
character. 


la'bel.     1  le'bel;  2  la'bgl,  not  1  le'bl;  2  la'bl. 

la'dy.  The  feminine  of  lord,  meaning,  according  to 
Max  Muller,  "  she  who  looks  after  the  loaf,"  the  mis- 
tress, is  a  title  of  superiority,  all  ladies  being  women, 
but  not  all  women  being  ladies.  In  England  it  i.s  a  title 
of  rank  (sec  hdy,  in  Funk  &  Wagnalls  New  Stand- 
ard Diction.\rt);  throughout  the  English-speaking 
world  it  signifies  "a  refined  or  well=bred  woman  or 
one  of  superior  social  position,"  and  is  used  as  the  cor- 
relative of  gentleman.  Its  use  as  indicating  distinc- 
tion of  sex  is  a  vulgarism.  Not  "A  man  and  a  lady," 
but  ''A  man  and  a  woman,"  or  "  A  gentleman  and  a 
lady."  Not  "  A  man  and  his  lady,"  but  "  A  man  ana 
his  wife."  The  entry  in  a  hotel  or  steamship  register, 
"  John  Smith  and  lady,"  may  be  a  survival  of  older 
English  usage;  but  except  in  such  purely  business 
registers  the  proper  form  is  "  John  Smith  and  wife," 
or  "  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Smith."  The  good  old* 
fashioned  name  woman  best  expresses  the  permanent 
and  all=important  relations  of  the  female  sex  to  the 
race  and  to  the  work  of  the  world.  The  use  of  lady 
for  woman,  hy  those  who  wrongly  suppose  that  the 
latter  term  is  in  some  way  derogatory,  in  cases  where 
the  distinction  to  be  brought  out  is  only  one  of  sex,  or 
of  racial  relations,  and  does  not  necessarily  involve 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  43 

rank,  character,  or  culture,  is  often  ludicrous,  as  iu 
BUch  expressions  as  salifilady,  a  form  as  objectionable 
as  saleisuentlcmiin  wouUl  be.  Even  in  the  cirawing* 
room  usage  of  the  English  aristocracy,  where  the  word 
lady,  in  its  use  as  a  title,  implies  high  rank  or  birth. 
woman  is  always  preferred  when  at  all  permi.s.sible,  and 
in  literature  the  undiscriminating  use  of  lady  is  less 
common  now  than  formerly. 

lam'en-Ja-ble.  i  lam'en-ta-bl;  2  l&m'?n-ta-bl,  not  1 
la-men'ta-bl;  2]a-men'ta-bl. 

lan'guid.  1  lari'gwid;  2  lin'gwid,  not  1  lan'gwid;  2 
lin'gwid. 

Iar"}'h-gi'tls.  1  lar'in-joi'tia  or  -jl'tis;  2  lar'yn-gl'tis 
or  -Di'tis. 

last,  lat'ter.  In  strict  sense,  last  is  not  properly  used 
of  only  two,  since  it  is  a  superlative;  latter,  not  prop- 
erly of  more  than  two,  since  it  is  a  comparative.  But 
■while  the  use  of  last  for  latter  and  of  latter  for  last  has 
had  wide  sanction  in  literature,  the  present  tendency, 
under  the  impulse  of  grammatical  criticism,  is  toward 
strict  construction. 

last  two,  etc.     See  first. 

la'tent.     1  lo'tent;  2  la'tdnt,  not  1  lat'ent;  2  liit'Cnt. 

Lat'in.     1  lat'in;  2  lat'In,  7wl  1  lat'n;  2  lit'n. 

lat'ter  end.  Obsolete  or  archaic  use  for  "  last  years, 
days,  or  hours." 

la'vcr.     1  le'ver;  2  la'ver,  not  1  lav'er;  2  lS.v'er. 

lawT.  A  singular  colloquial  error,  in  cases  where  a 
vowel  follows  law;  sometimes  heard  in  the  pulpit;  as, 
I' The  lawr  [I  ler;  2  lor)  of  the  Lod  [1  16d;  2  lod),"  r 
in  the  latter  word  being  omitted  as  capriciously  as  it 
is  added  to  the  former.  See  R.  The  addition  of  r 
to  idea  (idear)  is,  in  parts  of  the  United  States,  not 
uncommon  among  people  of  considerable  education. 

lay.  He.  Lay,  vt.,  '  to  put  down,"  "  to  cause  to  lie 
down,"  is  a  causal  derivative  of  lie,  vi.,  "  to  rest." 
The  principal  parts  of  the  two  verbs  are: 

Present.  Imperfect.  Past  Participle. 

lay,  vt.  laid  laid 

lie,  vi.  lay  lain 

The  identity  of  the  present  tense  of  lay,  vt.,  with  the 
imperfect  tense  of  lie,  vi.,  has  led  to  the  frequent  con- 
founding of  the  two  in  their  literary  usage.  (For  the 
nautical  use,  see  phrases  under  the.«e  verbs,  in  the 
dictionary  vocabulary.)  It  should  be  noted  that  lay 
(present  tense),  being  transitive,  is  always  followed  by 
an  object;  lie,  being  intransitive,  never  has  an  object. 
Lay,  in  "  I  lay  upon  thee  no  other  burden,"  is  the 
present  tense  of  lay,  vt.,  having  as  its  object  burden; 
in  "  I  lay  under  the  sycaraorctree  in  the  cool  shade," 
lay  is  the  imperfect  tense  of  lie,  vi.,  having  no  object; 
laid,  in  "  I  laid  the  book  on  the  table,"  is  the  imper- 
fect tense  of  lay,  vt.,  having  as  its  object  book.  The 
presence  or  absence  of  an  object  and  the  character  of 
the  verb  as  transitive  or  intransitive,  may  be  decided 
by  asking  the  question  "Lay  |or  laid]  what?"  The 
past  participles  of  the  two  verbs  ('aid  and  Jam)  are 
also  frequently  confounded.  Laid  in  tensccombina- 
tions  is  to  be  followed  by  an  object  always;  lain, 
never;  as,  "  He  has  laid  (not  lain]  the  book  on  the 
table  ";  "  He  has  lain  (not  laid)  long  in  the  grave." 
The  statement  in  present  time,  "  The  soldier  lays 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


44  Faulty  Diction 

aside  his  knapsack  and  lies  down,"  becomes  as  a  state- 
ment of  a  past  act;  as,  "  The  soldier  laid  aside  his 
knapsE^kand  lay  down  ";  "  The  hen  has  iaid  an  egg  "; 
"  The  egg  has  lain  (too  long)  in  the  nest." 

In  poetic  phraseology  especially  the  transitive  lay 
(in  all  its  tenees)  is  used  refiexively  as  an  equivalent  of 
lie,  lay,  etc.,  as  in  the  following  examples: 

Intranxilive.  Transitive. 

Pres.  I  lie  down  =  I  lay  me  down. 

Imp.  I  lay  down  =  I  laid  me  (myself)  down. 

Fut.  I  will  lie  down  >=  I  will  lay  me  (myself)  down. 
Plup.  I  had  Zaire  down  =  I  had  laid  me  (myself)  down. 

learn.  "  The  ladies  at  the  College  Settlement  learned 
many  poor  girls  to  make  their  own  clothing."  No: 
the  ladies  taught  them;  the  girls  learned.  Learn,  once 
used  with  approval  as  signifying  "  impart  knowledge 
to,"  long  ago  lost  that  sense,  which  is  now  clearly  ex- 
pressed by  teach.  These  words  should  be  kept  dis- 
tinct. 

learned.  As  imperfect  and  past  participle  of  learn,  pro- 
nounced lernd;  "  He  has  learned  his  lesson  ";  as  par- 
ticipial adjective,  pronounced  lern'ed;  "  A  learned 
man." 

least.  Grammatical  critics  object  to  the  use  of  least 
where  only  two  objects  are  compared,  and  thtir  ob- 
jection has  no  doubt  induced  a  tendency  to  say  "  the 
less  Of  lessei  of  the  two  " ;  but  it  has  always  been  com- 
mon English  usage  to  employ  the  superlative  to  ex- 
press the  extreme  of  a  comparison,  whether  the  objects 
compared  were  two  or  two  hundred,  and  there  is  no 
obvious  reason  why  it  should  not  have  been  so  used. 

leave.  Used  without  an  object;  as,  "  I  shall  not  leave 
before  December";  a  usage  condemned  by  some 
critics.  It  is  rare  in  writings  that  have  much  literary 
authority  as  exemplars  of  good  English,  altho  used 
in  Scotch  writings  and  in  English  books  of  travel ;  but 
as  it  meets  a  need,  and  as,  analogically,  the  omission 
of  the  object  is  quite  regular,  no  conclusive  reason 
appears  for  objecting  to  its  use  thus, 

leg'ls-Ia"tive.  1  lej'is-le"tiv;  2  leg'is-Ia'tiv,  not  1  la- 
jis'la-tiv;  2  le-gls'la-tiv. 

lengtb'en,  length'y.  The  verb  means  to  "  make  or 
to  grow  longer."  Its  participle  lengthened  no  more 
means  "  long  "  than  heightened  means  "  high  "  or 
strengthened  means  "  strong."  It  is  correct  to  say 
"  He  lengthened  the  discourse,  but  it  was  still  too 
short  ";  but  not  to  say  "  He  quoted  a  lengthened  pas- 
sage from  the  sermon."  A  sermon  is  lengthy  when 
"  unusually  or  unduly  long  "  (with  a  suggestion  of 
teaiousness) ,  not  when  it  is  simply  "  long." 

length^ways,  side'ways,  end'ways.  Undesirable 
variants  of  lengthwise,  sidewise,  endivise. 

less'er.     An  irregularly  formed  comparative,  but  estab- 
lished in  literary  use. 
The  lesser  light  to  rule  the  night.  Gen.  I,  16. 

le-thar'glc.  1  li-£hdr'jik;  2  le-thiir'gTc,  not  1  leth'sr- 
jik;  2  leth'ar-glc. 

Uc'o-rice.  1  lik'o-ris;  2  lic'o-ric,  not  1  lik'iir-ish;  2 
llc'er-Ish. 

like,  adv.  Incorrectly  substituted  for  as.  Not  "  She 
thinks  like  I  do,"  nor  "  Do  like  I  do,"  but  "  as  I  do." 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  45 

"  Be  brave  like  him,"  or  "  as  he  is."  Like  is  also  u«ed 
provincially  for  "  somewhat,"  "  aa  it  were  ";  as,  "  Ho 
breathed  heavy  like." 

like,  V.    See  love. 

U'lac.  1  lai'lak;  2  U'lac,  not  1  loi'lok;  2  H'lSc,  nor  1 
le'lek;  2  la'loc. 

Um'it-ed.  Often  faultily  used  for  small,  scant,  alioht, 
and  other  words  of  like  meunint;;  as,  "  He  had  a  limit- 
ed (."light)  acquaintanoe  with  Milton  ";  "  Sold  at  the 
limited  (low  or  reduced)  price  of  one  dollar  ";  "  His 
pecuniary  means  were  likely  to  remain  quite  limited  " 
—  admissible  if  suggesting  the  reverse  of  unlimited 
wealth,  otherwise  small  or  narrow.  See  Hodgscn  Er- 
rors etc.,  p.  43. 

lives.  For  lief;  "  I'd  just  aa  lives  as  not  ":  a  common 
tho  quite  inadmissible  (.ulloquicilism.  In  England  luj 
itself  i.s  somewhat  archnio. 

long 'dived".  I  loo'olaivd";  2  longMlvd,  not  1  16o'« 
livd";  2  long'-llvd'. 

look.  Not  "  She  looks  heaulifully,"  but  "  She  look» 
beautiful."     See  adjecti^'b  and  advf.ud. 

lot  or  lots.  A  slipshod  colioquialism  for  "  a  great 
many  ";  as,  "  We  sold  a  lot  of  tickets  ";  "  lie  has  lota 
of  friends  ";  to  be  avoided,  as  arc  all  other  vague,  ill* 
assigned  expressions,  as  tending  to  indistinctness  of 
thought    and    debasement    of    language.     Compare 

HEAP. 

loTC,  like.  Although  their  distinction  in  meaning  ia 
one  of  the  peculiar  felicities  of  the  English  language, 
these  words  are  often  confounded  in  use.  We  love 
that  which  ministers  to  our  affections;  we  like  what 
ministers  to  appetite,  taste,  fancy,  etc.  A  man  loves 
his  wife  and  children;  he  likes  roast  beef;  he  likes  some 
good=natured  acquaintance  whom  he  could  not  be  said 
to  love,  except  as  he  should  love  all  men;  he  likes  a  fleet 
horse,  a  fine  house,  a  pleasing  picture,  a  brisk  walk; 
the  Christian  loves  God. 

love'ly.  A  valuable  word  in  proper  use,  as  applied  to 
that  which  is  adapted  and  worthy  to  win  affection; 
but  as  a  colloquialism  improperly  applied  indiscrim- 
inately to  every  form  of  agreeable  feeling  or  quality. 
A  bonnet  is  lovely,  so  is  a  house,  a  statue,  a  friend,  a 
poem,  a  poodle,  a  bouquet,  a  visit;  and  it  is  even  said 
after  an  entertainment,  "  The  refreshments  were 
lovely!" 

low'-prleed".  Often  confounded  with  cheap.  A  thing 
is  cheap  when  its  price  is  low  compared  with  its  intrin- 
sic worth,  it  is  lowpriced  when  but  little  is  paid  or 
asked  for  it.  A  lowpriced  article  may  be  dear;  a 
cheap  article  may  not  be  lowpriced;  aa,  "  One  horse 
was  lowpriced  (he  paid  only  S50  for  it),  and  it  waa 
dear  at  that  price;  the  other  cost  him  $500,  but  V?as 
cheap  at  that  price." 

ly-ce'um.  1  lai-si'0m;  2  ly-ce'iim,  not  1  loi'si-nm;  3 
ly'ge-um. 

M 

mack'er-cl.     1  mak'ar-el;  2  mSk'er-gl,  not  1  mak'rel; 

2  mak'rel.  ,      ,  .        t. 

mad.     In  the  sense  of  angry  or  much  vexed,  altbougb 

occasionally  so  used  by  IQth'century  writers  of  the 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


46  Faulty  Diction 

highest  literary  reputation  (as  by  Cardinal  Newman), 
is  distinctly  archaic  in  literature.  Colloquially,  ia 
the  United  States,  mad  in  this  sense  is  very  common, 
and  as  a  provincialism  it  is  not  uncommon  in  England. 
Its  use  may  be  regarded  as  permissible  colloquially 
when  coune.^ted  with  a  cause  of  vexation  that  is  not 
a  person;  "  rnad  at  trifles,"  "  mad  at  such  behavior  " 
—  not  "  mad  at  John  or  Jane." 

main'te-nance.  1  men'ta-nans;  2  man'te-nang,  not  1 
-ten'sns;  2  -tgn'anc. 

make.  Used  with  excessive  frequency  for  earn,  gain, 
etc.;  as,  "  How  much  did  he  make  f  "  "  You  can't  make 
anything  there";  "  He  jnade  a  lot  of  money  in  Cali- 
fornia." Such  colloquialisms  should  not  be  allowed 
to  crowd  out  more  exact  and  unobjectionable  phrasea. 

ma'nes.     1  me'nlz;  2  miS'ne?,  not  1  menz;  2  man?. 

man'gjr.     1  men'ji;  2  man'gy,  not  1  man'ji;  2  man'gy, 

ma-ni'a-cal.  1  ma-nai'a-kl;  2  ma-ni'a-el,  not  1  me'ni- 
akl;  2  ma'ni-a-el. 

mar'i-tal.  Properly  used  of  the  husband  only;  "  His 
marital  rights  were  disregarded."  Matrimonial,  on 
the  other  hand,  may  be  used  with  reference  to  either 
the  husband  or  the  wife,  or  to  the  marriage  relation 
generally. 

mar 'l-time.     1  mar'i-tim  or  -taim;  2  mS.r'i-tIm  or  -tim. 

mar'jo-ram.  1  mdr'jo-ram;  2  mar'jo-ram,  not  1  mdr- 
jo'ram;  2  mar-jo'ram. 

mas'cu-iine.  1  mas'kiu-lin,  not  -lain;  2  mas'cu-Ua 
or  -lln. 

mas'sa-cred.  Final  syllable  1  -kard,  not  -krad;  2 
-kerd,  not  -kred;  in  the  noun  massacre,  1  -kar;  2  -cer, 
not  1  -kra;  2  -ere. 

ma'tron.  1  me'tran;  2  ma'tron,  not  1  mat'ran;  2 
m/it'ron. 

mat'tress.  1  mat'res;  2  mit'rgs,  not  1  mat'ras;  2 
mSt'res. 

mau"so-le 'um.  1  me'so-li'um;  2  ma'so-le'iim,  not  i 
mo-s6'-;  2  ma-s6'-. 

may'or.  1  me'ar  or  -er;  2  ma'or  or  -or,  not  1  mar;  2 
mar. 

mere'ly.  Often  misused  for  simply.  Merely  implies  no 
addition;  simply,  no  admixture  or  complication;  "  Tha 
boys  were  there  merely  as  spectators;  it  is  simply  in- 
credible that  they  should  have  so  disgraced  them» 
selves  ";  "  It  is  simply  water." 

mes'mer-lze.  1  mez'mar-aiz;  2  mgg'mer-iz,  not  1 
mes'mar-;  2  mgs'mer-.  _ 

met'al-lur"gist.  1  met'a-lur'jist;  2  mSt'a-lClr'gist, 
not  1  met-al'-;  2  m6t-al'-. 

met"ro-pol'i-tan.  1  met'ro-pel'i-tan;  2  met"ro-pol'i'» 
tan,  not  1  mrtro-;  2  me'tro-. 

mid'dling.  Not  in  good  use  as  an  adverb.  Not  "  a 
middling  (but  a  tolerably  or  fairly)  good  year  for 
grapes  ";  not  "  a  middling  good  performance  ";  "  he 
did  middling  well." 

midst.     See  in  our  midst. 

mjght'y.  For  very:  in  common  use,  perhaps  always 
with  a  colloquial  tinge,  for  more  than  two  hundred 
years;  as,  mighty  hard,  mighty  weak,  mighty  well.  In 
strict  construction  mighty  is  an  adjective  only,  and  to 
be  used  to  qualify  a  noun  or  pronoun;  as,  "  He  was 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  47 

mighty  ";  "a  mighty  man  ";  not  "  lie  had  a  tuiuhly 
hard  time." 

Ddin'a-rct.  1  min'a-ret;  2  mTn'a-r6t,  not  1  miu'd-'ct'; 
2  mln'a-rSt'. 

mls'chle-vous.  1  mis'tflu-vus;  2  mIs'chi-viiB,  not  1 
mis-(!hrvus;2  mis-chi'v us, nor  1  -du'vi-U8;2-chi'vi-u3. 

mls-ta'ken.  ""^he  anomalous  use  of  mislaken  iuis  natu- 
rally attract  i  the  attenliou  of  spcocliTeformers;  wo 
ought  to  n-  an,  "  You  are  misappri'hcnded  or  mis- 
understood, '  they  tell  us,  when  we  say  "  You  arc  mis- 
taken," and  if  we  mean  "You  are  in  error,"  we  ought  to 
Bay  so.  But  suppose  the  alleRod  misuse  of  mxulaken 
gives  rise  to  no  misunderstandinR  whatever  —  that 
everybody,  high  or  low,  throughout  the  English* 
speaking  world,  knows  what  is  meant  when  one  says 
"You  are  mistaken"  —  in  that  case,  to  let  alone 
seems  to  be  wisdom.  The  corruption,  if  it  be  one,  has 
the  sanction  not  only  of  universal  employment,  but  of 
antiquity. 

lachimo:  Either  your  un  paragoned  nilstress  la  dead,  or 
Bbe's  out-prized  by  a  trlde. 
Poslhumus:  You  are  mistaken. 

Shak.  Ci/mbeline  act  t,  sc.  5. 

moire  an"tlque'.  1  mwdr  an'tik';  2  mwar  iin'tlk', 
not  1  mor;  2  mor. 

molst'cn.  1  meis'n;  2  mSis'n,  not  1  meis'tan;  2 
mois'ten. 

mon'grci.     Imuij'grel;  2  mpo'grf  I,  no<  1  mori-;2mSn-. 

mo-rale'.     1  mo-rdl';  2  mo-riil,  not  1  mer'al,  2  mir'al. 

most.     For  almost.     See  almost. 

most.  Often  used  with  an  adjective,  simply  as  an  in- 
tensive; as,  "  a  most  piercing  cry,"  "  the  most  terrible 
slaughter,"  "  a  most  unjust  decision."  The  indefinite 
article  seems  to  indicate  that  the  superlative  sense  has 
dropped  out.  In  British  English  of  the  present  day 
most  has  almost  displaced  very  in  such  phrases  aa 
"  most  beautiful,"  "  most  surprising." 

moun'tain-ous.  1  maun'tin-us;  2  moun'tin-us,  not 
1  muun-te'ni-us;  2  moun-ta'ni-us. 

mu-sc'iim.  1  miu-zi'um;  2  mu-§e'um,  not  1  miu'zi- 
trm;  2  mu-ge'um. 

musk'mel"on.  1  mnsk'mel'an;  2  musk'mgl'on,  not 
1  mu^'-;  2  mush'-. 

Slus'sul-man.  Not  a  compound  of  Mussul  and  the 
English  word  man:  hence  its  proper  plural  is  Mussul- 
mans (after  the  an.alogy  of  Turcoman,  plural  Turco- 
mans), not  ^tussulmen.  Moslems  or  Mohammedans 
is  usually  preferred. 

mu'tu-al  friend.  Before  the  publication  of  Samuel 
Johnson's  dictionary  (1755)  mutual  had,  as  now,  two 
distinct  meanings,  (1)  reciprocal,  (2)  joint  or  common. 
Each  of  these  senses  was  accepted  literary  usage,  and 
it  would  be  hard  to  say  which  of  the  two  was  com- 
moner. Johnson  gave  to  mutual  only  one  meaning, 
reciprocal:  but  the  first  of  the  two  quotations  cited  by 
him  (that  from  Shakespeare)  illustrated  the  meaning 
joint  or  common.  There  was  the  same  inconsistency 
between  definition  and  illustration  in  his  treatment 
of  mutually.  The  authority  of  Johnson's  dictionary 
became  by  and  by  so  c^eat  that  an  omission  in  it  to 
note  a  meaning  was  regarded  by  many  as  an  exclusion 
of  such  meaning  from  the  correct  uses  of  a  word,  so 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  psge  8. 


48  Faulty  Diction 

that  by  the  beginning  of  the  19th  century  joint  or 
common  as  one  of  the  senses  of  mutual  had  fallen  into 
disfavor. 

Centuries  of  English  literature  authorize  the  em- 
ployment of  mutual  in  the  sense  of  joint  or  common. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  very  strong  disapproval  with 
which  this  and  like  uses  of  mutual  pre  regarded  by 
many  writers  of  good  taste  may  not  x.  'reasonably  be 
considered  as  sufficient  ground  for  a\  >iding  mutual 
friend  and  kindred  expressions.  See  mdtdal  and 
synonyms,  in  Funk  &  Waqnalls  New  Standard 
Dictionary. 


N 


na-Ive'.     1  na-tv';  2  na-Iv',  not  1  nev;  2  nav. 

na'ked.     1  nS'ked;  2  na'kSd,  not  1  nek'ed;  2  nak'ed. 

na'sal.     1  ne'zal;  2  na'§al,  not  1  ne'sal;  2  na'sal. 

nas'ty.  A  British  colloquialism  verging  upon  slang,  in 
very  frequent  use  for  "  disagreeable,"  "  unpleasant  "i 
as,  nasty  weather;  a  nasty  road;  a  nasty  trick.  "  A 
nasty  retort  "  is  understood  to  mean  one  that  is  ill- 
natured,  or  exasperating,  or  very  telling.  The  epithet 
is  quite  generally  offensive  to  American  ears,  since 
Americans  associate  the  word,  in  its  material  sense, 
with  a  phj'sical  condition  "  excessively  filthy  or 
dirty";  as,  "A  sty  is  a  nasty  place";  and,  in  its 
moral  sense,  in  its  application  to  speech,  with  the 
character  of  obscenity;  as,  "  He  indulged  in  saying 
nasty  things." 

na'tlon-al.  1  na^'an-al;  2  nS,sh'on-al,  not  1  ng'^an- 
el;  2  na'shon-al. 

ne-ces'sl-ta"ted.  Except  in  formal  or  philosophical 
discourse,  an  ambitious  and  somewhat  clumsy  word 
for  which  there  are  familiar  substitutes,  as  compelled, 
etc. 

nec'tar-ine.  1  nek'tar-in;  2  n6e'tar-in,  not  1  nek'tar- 
In';  2  nSc"tar-in'. 

need.  Followed  by  the  infinitive  without  to:  "  He 
need  not  to  go  "  would  be  contrary  to  English  idiom, 
which  in  this  instance  would  be  "  He  need  not  go." 

nel'tber,  ei'tber.  For  "  none  "  and  "  any  one,"  not 
the  best  usage;  "That  he  [Shakespeare]  wrote  the 
plays  which  bear  his  name  we  know ;  but  ...  we  do 
not  know  the  years  ...  in  which  either  (correctly, 
any  one)  of  them  was  first  performed  ";  "  Peasant, 
yeoman,  ai-tisan,  tradesman,  and  gentleman  could 
then  be  distinguished  from  each  other  almost  as  far 
as  they  could  be  seen.  Except  in  cases  of  unusual 
audacity,  neither  (correctly,  no  one,  or  none)  presumed 
tp  wear  the  dress  of  his  betters." 

nei'ther,  nor.  As  disjunctive  correlatives,  each  ac- 
companied by  a  singular  nominative,  often  incorrectly 
followed  by  a  plural  verb  form;  as,  "  Neither  he  nor 
I  were  (properly  was)  there." 

neth'er-most.     1  neth'ar-most;  2  nSth'er-most. 

neu-ral 'gi-a.  1  niu-ral'ji-a;  2  nu-ra,l'gi-a,  not  1  niu- 
ral'ji;  2  nu-ral-gi. 

nev'er.  The  employment  of  never  for  an  emphatic  not 
in  cases  where  a  period  of  time  of  some  considerable 
length  is  thought  of,  as  in  "  I  will  keep  my  promise  — 

Fur  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  49 

never  fear  "  (fear  not  at  all,  or  at  any  time  in  the  inter- 
val, that  I  may  break  it),  is  sanctioned  by  abundant 
authority.  But  such  a  use  of  never  ought  not  to  be 
regarded  as  justifying  its  employment  where  the  time 
mentioned  or  understood  is  momentary  or  short,  as 
in  "  We  met  the  other  day,  but  he  never  referred  to 
♦he  matter  ";  "  George  Washington  was  never  born 
in  New  York." 

nev'er  so,  etc.     See  ever  so,  etc. 

nice.  Improperly  used  to  express  every  kind  and  de- 
gree of  admired  or  appreciated  quality;  as,  "  a  nice 
time,"  "  a  nice  horse,  '  "  a  nice  rain,"  "  a  nice  man," 
"  a  nice  sermon,"  "  a  nice  funeral." 

nl'ce-ty.     1  noi'si-ti;  2  ni'fe-ty,  nol  I  nais'ti;  2  nic'ty. 

ni 'hil-ism.  1  noi'hil-izm;  2  nl'hil-l;m,  nol  1  ul'hil-: 
2  nJ'hil-. 

no'how.  A  vulgarism  for  "  in  no  way  "  or  "  by  no 
means."  If  after  a  negative,  say  "  in  any  way,"  "  by 
any  means,"  "  at  all."  "  I  don't  believe  in  them  no- 
how "  should  be  "  I  don't  believe  in  them  in  the  Icait," 
or  "  at  all." 

nom'i-na-tlve.     1  nem'i-na-tiv;  2  n6m'i-na-tiv,  not 

1  nem'na-tiv;  2  n6m'na-tiv,  nor  1  nem'i-nC'tiv;  2 
n6m''i-na't,iv. 

none,  pron.  Construed  in  the  singular  or  plural  as  the 
sense,  or  the  best  expression  of  the  meaning  intended, 
may  require.  "  Did  you  buy  melons  ?  '  "  There 
were  none  in  market."  "  Have  you  brought  me  a 
letter?"  " There  u'asnon? in  your  letter«box."  When 
the  singular  or  plural  eoually  well  expresses  the  sense, 
the  plural  is  commonly  used.  "  None  of  these  words 
are  now  current." 

The  influence  of  an  adjective  or  noun  usually  con- 
strued in  the  plural  changes  into  a  plural  a  none  that 
would  be  more  emphatic  in  the  singular.  "  A' one  but 
the  wise  follow  that  precept."  It  is  for  this  reason,  no 
doubt,  that  Dryden's  "  None  but  the  brave  deserves 
the  fair  "  is  often  quoted  "  None  but  the  brave  de- 
serve the  fair."  But  there  is  also  a  distinct  tendency 
to  make  none  plural  when  it  is  used  of  a  person  in- 
stead of  a  thing,  especi-vlly  if  the  person  mentioned 
stands  for  a  class.  In  the  following  quotation  the 
"  are,"  although  ungrammatical,  connects  "right  " 
with  any  one  of  the  persons  named  —  not  with  any 
one  of  the  things  named.  If  is  be  substituted  for 
"  are,"  "  right  '  may  be  as  reasonably  connected 
with  "  mind,"  "soul,"  or  "  brain  "  as  with  the  per- 
sons (or  classes  of  persons)  spoken  of. 

Mind  says  one.  soul  says  another,  brain  or  matter  says 
a  third,  but  none  of  these  are  right. 
The  form  of  sentence  should  bo  changed,  in  such  -lases, 
so  as  to  evade  any  grammatical  difficulty. 

non"pa-reil'.     1  nen'pa-rel';  2  n6n"pa-r6l',  not  1  -rll'; 

2  -rel'. 

nor,  or.  To  be  discriminated  when  used  after  no  or 
not.  "  He  has  no  money  or  credit  ";  here  "  credit  " 
is  only  an  equivalent  of  "  money  "  and  serves  merely 
to  amplify  expression.  "  He  has  no  money  nor 
credit  "  presents  "  credit  "  as  an  important  alterna- 
tive, an  additional  resource.  In  less  simple  state- 
ments the  distinction  may  be  of  much  importance. 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


50  Faulty  Diction 

"  Will  or  disposition,"  "  power  or  faculty,"^  rray  be 
but  pairs  of  synonyms.  The  locution  "  will  nor  dis- 
position," "  power  nor  faculty,"  distinguishes  the  two 
members  of  a  pair  as  different. 

nus'trum.  1  ces'trum;  2  nos'trum,  not  1  no'strnmv 
2  no'strum. 

no'ta-ble.  Means  worthy  of  note;  not'a-ble,  clevei, 
prudent. 

notb'iDg  like.  Not  to  be  used  adverbially  for  no( 
nearly.  Do  not  say  "  He  wag  nothing  like  as  hand- 
some as  his  brother,"  but  "  He  was  not  nearly  so  hand- 
some," etc. 

no  use.  Instead  of  "  It  was  no  use  to  argue  with  him," 
say  "  of  no  use." 

nos'ious.  1  nok'^Ds;  2  nSk'shils,  not  1  nek'ihi-us;  3 
n5k'shi-us. 

nu-cle'o-lus.  1  niu-kll'o-lus;  2  nu-ele'o-lijs,  not  1 
niu"kli-6'lus;  2  nu"cle-6'lus. 

nuin'ber.  Not  to  be  used  with  such  words  as  innumer- 
able and  numerous,  which  themselves  contain  the  idea 
of  number  (Latin  numerus).  "  A  countless  number," 
not  "  an  innumerable  number." 

nup'tial.  1  nup'^al;  2  niip'shal,  not  1  nupt'yal;  2 
nupt'yal. 


o 


O  and  oh.  Interjections  often  interchanged,  but  hav- 
ing certain  well-marked  distinctions.  See  statement 
under  O  in  Funk  &  Wagnalls  New  Standard 
Dictionary. 

oaths.     1  othz;  2  oth?,  not  1  ofhs;  2  oths. 

O-bes'I-ty.  1  o-bes'i-ti;  2  o-b6s'i-ty,  not  1  o-bi'si-ti; 
2  o-be'si-ty. 

o-blige'.     1  o-blaij;  2  o-bllg',  not  1  o-bllj';  2  o-bllg'. 

oc-cult'.     1  e-kult':  2  o-tult',  not  1  ek'ult,  2  6c'ult. 

of.  In  such  expressions  as  "  the  love  of  God,"  equivo- 
cal, since  it  may  be  taken  subjectively  as  "  the  love 
that  God  cherishes  "  toward  some  one,  or  objectively 
as  "  the  love  that  is  cherished  toward  God  "  by  some 
one.  It  is  better  to  use  some  other  form  of  expression 
when  the  accompanying  words  do  not  make  the  sense 
unmistakable. 

of  all  oth  'ers.  When  with  a  superlative  stating  the  re- 
sults of  a  comparison,  a  grammatically  censurable 
form:  as,  "  Of  all  others,  he  was  the  greatest  man." 
The  fault  arises  from  failure  to  distinguish  the  forma 
appropriately  used  with  the  comparative  degree  from 
those  appropriate  with  the  comparative  and  the 
superlative  degree.  In  a  comparison  by  means  of  a 
comparative  followed  by  than,  the  thing  compared 
must  always  be  excluded  (as  by  other  or  some  like 
word)  from  the  class  of  things  with  which  it  is  com- 
pared;  as,  "  The  molting-season  is  a  very  delicate  and 
interesting  period  both  for  birds  and  bipeds  "  should 
be  "  The  molting,  etc.,  for  both  birds  and  o(/ipr  bi- 
peds," since  the  omission  of  ether  implies  that  birds 
are  not  bipeds. 

But  in  the  case  of  such  a  comparison  by  means  of  a 
superlative,  the  object  designated  by  the  superlative 
must  always  be  included  in  the  class  of  things  with 
which  the  comparison  is  made;  not  "  Washington  ia 

Fof  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  51 

the  best"known  o/  all  other  modern  patriots,"  but 
"  Washington  is  the  best-known  uf  all  modern  patri- 
ots," since  the  use  of  other  excludes  WiuihinKton  from 
the  class  with  which  he  is  compared,  and  makes  the 
form  ot  expression  self'eontradictory.  "  'I'hia  measure 
of  all  others  ought  to  have  been  avoided."     By  no 

Eossibility  could   this  measure  be  one  of  all  olhers. 
ee  Hodgson  Errors  in  the  Use  of  Eiialish  pp.  83-85. 

of  an'y.  Often  erroneously  used  lor  of  all.  "  This  is 
the  finest  of  any  I  have  seen  "  should  be  "  finer  than 
any  other,"  or  "  finest  of  alt." 

Off>  Often  followed  colloquially  by  a  misplaced  of,  as 
in  "  Cut  a  yard  off  of  the  cloth,"  which  means  "  Cut 
off  &  yard  of  the  cloth."  A  redundant  o/also  is  often 
heard  in  popular  speech  in  connection  with  off,  as  in 
"  Get  off  of  that  fence." 

Oft'en.     1  of'n;  2  of'n,  not  1  ef'tan;  2  often. 

0"le-an'der.  6  h-an'dar;  2  6'le-&n'der,  not  1  6'h-an'» 
dar;  2  o'le-Sn'der. 

on,  up-on'.  See  upon,  in  Funk  &  Waqnalls  New 
St.\nd.\rd  Diction \ry. 

one,  n.  One  used  indefinitely  for  "  a  person,"  "  any 
person,"  often  requires  to  be  followed  by  a  possessive, 
or  a  new  nominative  referring  to  the  first  one.  As  the 
employment  of  his,  he,  etc.,  in  such  cases  breaks  the 
continuity,  and  may  violate  the  rules  of  agreement  in 
gender,  the  tendency  ot  late  has  been  to  use  one't-  and 
one  to  the  end  of  the  statement.  Thus,  "  When  one 
has  learned  one's  lesson,  one  should  take  one's  exercise, 
after  which  one  may  eat  one's  dinner,"  etc.  In  ex- 
tended statements  it  is  always  advisable  to  avoid  the 
frequent  recurrence  of  one  and  one's  by  changing  the 
mode  of  expression.  If  a  writer  begins  with  "  When 
a  person,"  "  a  pupil,"  or  the  like,  he  may  go  on  to 
say  "  has  learned  his  lesson,"  and  continue  with  "  ^e  " 
and  "  his  "  without  objection. 

one,  pron.  Special  care  is  needed  to  avoid  ambiguity  in 
the  relation  of  the  indefinite  pronoun  one  to  its  proper 
antecedent.     Note  the  follnwinii;  e.\;imple: 

Until  I  began  to  write  this  chapter,  and  had  framej  a 
fleflnltlon  of  word  Tor  myself,  I  had  never  seen  or  heard  one. 
Richard  Grant  White  Words  and  Their  Uses  ch.  vU, 
p.  199. 

The  meaning  of  course  is  "  I  had  never  seen  or  heard 
such  a  definition  " ;  but  a  meaning  suggested  is  "  I 
had  never  seen  nor  heard  a  word."  See  rbetorical 
construction. 

on'er-ous.  1  en'ar-us;  2  6n'er-ua,  not  1  6'nar-us;  2 
o'ner-us. 

on'ly.  Rules  for  the  correct  use  of  only  are  chiefly  in- 
structive as  showing  the  present  impracticability  of 
reducing  English  usage  to  rule.  In  general,  any  posi- 
tion of  only  that  results  in  ambiguity  of  reference  is  of 
course  faulty.  Yet  in  the  writings  cf  even  the  best 
authors  the  word  may  be  found  in  every  possible 
position  with  reference  to  the  words  it  is  meant  to  re- 
strict, and  considerations  of  rhythm  or  euphony  often 
give  to  it  the  worst  possible  place  for  indicating  the 
meaning  intended.  Some  years  ago  a  critic  showed 
that,  by  the  principles  of  permutation,  a  short  para- 
graph of  a  noted  English  writer,  containing  several 
onlys,  might  have  any  one  of  about  5,000  meanings. 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


52  Faulty  Diction 

Sometimes  the  position  commonly  given  the  word  by 
writers  is  the  one  universally  condemned  by  the  crit- 
ics; as,  "  He  only  painted  ten  pictures,"  for  "  He 
painted  only  ten  pictures,"  or  (for  greater  emphasis) 
'  He  painted  ten  pictures  onij/."  In  written  discourse 
the  principles  of  rhetorical  construction  aid  in  guard- 
ing against  faulty  usage.     See  construction. 

In  spoken  language  the  relations  of  only  and  similar 
words  in  the  sentence  are  indicated  to  a  great  extent 
by  stress  and  tone  of  voice,  but  in  written  language 
these  relations  must  be  conveyed  by  the  position  of 
the  word.  The  general  rule,  so  far  as  any  rule  can 
be  given,  is  to  -place  the  "  only  "  next  to  the  word  or 
phrase  to  be  qualified,  arranging  the  rest  of  the  sentence 
so  that  no  word  or  phrase  that  the  word  might  be  regarded 
as  qualifying  shall  adjoin  it  on  the  other  side.  The 
sentence  "  Only  his  mother  spoke  to  him  "  is  not  am- 
biguous, for  the  word  only  must  apply  to  the  succeed- 
ing phrase  "  his  mother."  "  His  mother  only  spoke 
to  him  "  is  ambiguous  in  written  language,  but  in 
speech  the  inflection  would  show  whether  the  only  re- 
ferred to  "his  mother  "  or  to  "  spoke."  "  His  mother 
spoke  only  to  him  "  would  scarcely  be  ambiguous,  be- 
cause only  is  rarely  used  in  prose  immediately  after  a 
verb  that  it  qualifies.  Yet  for  absolute  clearness 
"  His  mother  spoke  to  him  only  "  would  be  better. 
It  will  be  thus  seen  that  in  applying  the  rule  the  cir- 
cumstances of  each  particular  case  must  be  carefully 
considered. 

Like  ambiguity  often  results  from  the  improper  dis- 
position of  not  only,  not  merely,  not  more,  both,  and  not, 
to  the  use  of  which  the  same  general  directions  are 
applicable. 

As  a  final  resort,  when  the  resources  of  position  and 
construction  have  been  exhausted  without  securing 
clearness,  it  is  better  to  change  the  mode  of  expression 
so  as  to  get  rid  of  the  refractory  word  or  phrase. 

on  tOi  on'to.  Objected  to  by  some  critics  as  redun- 
dant or  needless,  but  doubtless  becoming  more  frequent 
in  print,  the  newspapers  often  printing  it  as  a  solid 
word.  Considered  as  a  new  word  (it  is  in  reality  a 
revival  of  an  old  form),  it  conforms  to  the  two  main 
neoteristic  canons  by  which  the  admissibility  of  new 
words  is  to  be  decided.  (See  Hall  Modern  English 
pp.  171,  173.)  It  obeys  the  analogy  of  in  to,  into.  It 
may  also  be  held  to  supply  an  antecedent  blank,  a? 
may  be  shown  by  examples.  It  never  should  be  em- 
ployed where  on  is  sufficient;  but  simple  on  after  verbs 
of  motion  may  be  wholly  ambiguous,  so  that  on  to, 
meaning  "  to  or  toward  and  on,"  may  become  neces- 
sary to  clear  up  the  ambiguity.  "  The  boy  fell  on 
the  roof  "  may  mean  that  he  fell  while  on  the  roof,  or 
that  he  fell,  as  from  the  chimney=top  or  some  over- 
looking window,  to  the  roof  so  as  to  be  on  it;  but  if  we 
say  "  The  boy  fell  on  to  the  roof,"  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  latter  is  the  meaning.  The  canons  for  decid- 
ing the  eligibility  of  new  words  appear  therefore  to 
claim  for  ore  to  the  right  to  struggle  for  continued 
existence  and  general  acceptance. 

op-po'nent.  1  e-p6'nent;  2  6-p6'ngnt,  not  1  ep'o 
nent;  2  op'o-nent. 

o'rate.     Should  not  be  uned  when  speak,  declaim,  hoi' 

for  Keys  to  Sfmbois  used*  see  ^age  & 


Faulty  Diction  53 

rangue,  or  a  like  word  will  express  what  is  intended  to 
be  said.  As  meaning  "  to  play  the  orator,  talk  wind- 
ily  in  round  periods,"  it  meets  the  canon  of  "  supply- 
ing an  antecedent  blank,"  and  is  a  legitimate  word, 
especially  in  humorous  or  contemptuous  use. 

or'cbid.     1  or'kid;  2  dr'cid,  not  I  er'chid;  2  6r'chid. 

or'de-al.  1  er'di-al;  2  6r'de-al,  not  1  er-di'al;  2  6r- 
de'al,  nor  1  er-dil';  2  6r-del'. 

or'tho-ep"Ist.  Now  the  approved  accentuation,  but 
or-tho'ep-ist  is  the  pronunciation  generally  heard. 

OU,  OW.  In  such  words  as  our,  out,  down,  round,  often 
locally  mispronounced  as  au  (i.  e.,  a  in  at+u  in  full, 
sometimes  represented  by  aou,  as  araound),  a  pro- 
nunciation that  has  a  disagreeable  twang.  Care 
should  be  taken  to  give  the  diphthong  its  full  sound. 
The  fault  mentioned  above  has  been  supposed  to  be 
peculiarly  American,  but  it  is  very  common  in  Eng- 
land. 

our.  In  some  parts  of  the  United  States  pronounced 
as  if  it  were  dr,  as  dr  house,  instead  of  our  house.  The 
diphthongal  sound  in  the  former  word  is  identical  with 
that  in  the  latter. 

oust.     I  oust;  2  oust,  not  1  ust;  2  ust. 

O'ver,  not  o'ver.  Equivalent  to  more  than,  not  more 
than;  objected  to  by  some  critics,  but  supported  by 
literary  usage,  and  further  defensible  as  having  a  tinge 
of  metaphor  suggestive  of  overflowing  quantity  or 
overtopping  height. 

o'ver-alis.  1  O'var-elz";  2  o'ver-qlg,  not  1  o'var-helz'; 
2  o'ver-h^ls. 

o"ver-flowh'.  Incorrectly  used  for  overflowed:  "  the 
river  had  overflown  its  banks."  Flown  is  the  parti- 
ciple of  fly,  not  of  flow :  there  is  no  such  verb  as  overfly, 
and  if  there  were  its  participle  could  not  apply  to  a 
river,  as  in  the  example. 

o'ver  his  sig'na-ture.  The  common  present  phrase  to 
describe  the  relation  of  written  matter  to  a  person  who 
has  appended  tis  name  to  it.  The  affixing  of  signa- 
tures and  seals  to  the  end  or  bottom  of  letters  and 
documents,  as  a  prevalent  custom,  is  comparatively 
recent.  Formerly  signatures  and  seals  were  often  put 
at  the  top  of  letters  and  documents  —  oftener  at  the 
top  than  at  the  bottom;  so  that  the  older  phrase  for 
the  same  thing  is  under  his  signature. 


pa-dro'ne.  1  pa-dro'ne;  2  p.^-dro'ne,  not  1  pa-dron'; 
2  p&-dr6n'. 

palm'is-try.  1  pSm'is-tn;  2  pam'is-trj',  or  1  pal'mis- 
tri;  2  pai'mis-try. 

pa-py'rus.  1  pa-pai'rus;  2  pa-py'rus,  not  1  pap'i-rus; 
2  pSp'y-rus. 

par'a-dox.  A  paradox  is  something  that  seems,  at  first 
sight,  absurd  or  false;  hence  the  expression  "  a  seem- 
ing paradox  "  is  pleonastic;  it  is  better  to  say  "  a 
paradoxical  statement." 

par'ent.     1  par'ent;  2  p&r'Snt,  not  1  pg'rent;  2  pa'rgnt. 

par'e-sis.  1  par'i-sis;  2  par'e-sis,  not  1  pe-ri'sis;  2 
pa-re'sls. 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


54  Faulty  Diction 

part'ner.  Pronounred  part'ner,  never  pard'ner  (which 
has  been  shortened  into  the  vu'igar  "  pard  "). 

par'ty.  Jn  the  sense  of  person,  a  colloquial  perversion 
of  the  legal  term,  which  views  a  person  as  taking  pari, 
participating  in  a  cause,  action,  or  contract;  as,  in  a 
contract,  "the  party  of  the  first  part,"  t.  e.,  the  one 
who  participates  on  the  first  side,  Tho  sometimes 
employed  by  good  writers  to  mean  "  person,"  its  use 
by  them  has  generally  been  humorous,  and  its  indis- 
criminate use  in  this  sense  is  now  condemned  as  a 
vulgarism. 

passive.  Many  writers  use  what  may  be  termed  o 
double  passive,  by  wrongly  making  the  change  from 
an  active  to  a  passive  construction.  This  is  some- 
times done  by  taking  the  object  of  a  verb  that  is  itself 
in  an  object  clause,  to  serve  as  the  new  subject,  and 
changing  both  principal  and  dependent  verbs  to  the 
passive.  Thus,  "  He  omitted  to  light  the  lamp,"  can 
not  properly  be  changed  to  "  The  lamp  was  omitted 
to  be  lighted."  This  mistake,  which  appears  glaring 
in  such  an  instance,  occurs  in  forms  like  "  The  armed 
men  were  obliged  to  be  taken  on  board."  The  armed 
men  were  not  obliged  to  do  anything;  some  persona 
were  obliged  to  take  the  armed  men  on  board.  "  The 
ofTense  attempted  to  be  proved,"  should  be  "  The 
offense  which  there  was  an  attempt  to  prove,"  or 
"  which  (the  accusers]  attempted  to  prove.  ' 

Where  the  verb  regularly  takes  two  objects,  one  of 
which  is  properly  indirect;  as,  "  I  gave  (to)  him  an 
apple,"  the  passive  form  is  strictly  "  An  apple  waa 
given  (to)  him,"  but  the  tendency  of  the  language  is 
to  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  it  ever  possessed  a  dative, 
so  that  the  objects  are  often  treated  as  if  both  were 
direct;  and  when  it  is  wished  to  make  the  pers.  n  in- 
stead of  the  thing  a  subject,  we  naturally  say  "  H'^ 
was  given  an  apple  "  —  a  form  widely  used,  but  con- 
demned by  grammatical  critics. 

past  participles.  Some  past  participles  obsolete  in 
good  prose,  ijch  as  broke,  chose,  froze,  shook,  are  ad- 
missible in  poetry  by  poetic  license  or  when  the  poetry 
affects  an  ancient  flavor.  They  survive  otherwise 
only  in  crude  speech;  as,  "  The  rope  was  broke." 

ped'a-gogdie.  A  singular  variety  of  pronunciations  — 
resulting  in  peculiar  liability  to  mispronunciation  —  is 
noticeable  in  the  derivatives  of  this  word,  thus: 

ped'a-goE;(ue.     1  ped'a-geg;  2  p5d'a-gog. 

ped"a-gog'ic.     1  ped"&-goj'ik;  2  ped"a-g6g'ic. 

ped"a-gog'ics.     1  ped"a-gej'iks;  2  pfid'a-gog'iea. 

ped"a-gog-isni.     1  ped'o-geg-izm;  2  p6d'a-gog-Igm. 

ped'a-gog-ist.     1  ped'a-gog-ist;  2  p6d'a-g6g-Ist. 

ped'a-go"gy.  1  ped'a-go'ji  or  -gej"i;  2  ped'a-go'gy  or 
-Kog"y. 

pell"»men'.  This  word  etymologically  implies  a  crowd 
and  confusion  (French  melee),  and  is  not  applied  to 
an  individual.  Thus,  "  He  rushed  out  pell=mell  " 
should  be  "  He  rushed  out  hastily  and  excitedly." 

pe'o-ny.  1  pi'o-ni;  2  pe'o-ny,  not  1  poi'o-ni;  2  pl'o-ny, 
nor  1  pui'ni;  2  pl'ny. 

peo'ple.  For  persons :  a  usage  unsparingly  condemned 
by  some  critics,  but  freely  followed  by  others,  as  well 
as  by  most  writers  and  speakers  of  English.  It  ia 
obvious  that  it  is  scarcely  proper  to  use  people  of  a 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  pag'i  8. 


Faulty  IDIctlon  55 

very  small  number  of  persons  when  ronsidered  sep- 
arately or  numerically;  as,  "  Three  people  entered  the 
room  ";  better,  "  Three  persons."  But  "  A  crowd  of 
people,"  "  The  young  people  of  the  church,"  "  The 
room  was  full  of  people,'  are  good  English  expressions. 
It  would  be  cjuite  out  of  place  to  say  "  A  crowd  of  per- 
sons," "  The  pastor  desires  to  meet  the  young  persons 
of  the  church,"  "  The  room  w^as  full  of  persons." 

per.  A  Latin  preposition,  properly  to  be  joined  only 
with  Latin  words;  as,  per  diem,  not  per  day:  per  an- 
num, not  per  year.  "  So  much  a  day,"  "  so  much  a 
year,"  etc.,  are  the  correct  expressions.  "  Per  in- 
voice" and  similar  expressions  are  current  in  com- 
mercial use. 

pcr'fect.  More  perfect  and  most  perfect  are  condemned 
by  some  grammarians,  since  what  is  perfect  can  not 
be  more  so.  But  every  adjective  of  this  kind  that 
strictly  means  an  absolute  and  unsurpassable  degree, 
becomes  gradually  weakened  in  force  in  colloquial  use 
so  that  a  secondary  meaning  is  developed,  and  in  that 
sense  such  adjectives  may  properly  be  compared 
like  other  adjectives.  Phrases  of  this  kind  are  com- 
mon in  popular  use  to  signify  "  having  more  or  most 
of  the  qualities  that  constitute  perfection,"  and  v.ith 
similar  ejcpressions  have  been  employed  by  Shake- 
speare, Milton,  and  other  great  English  writers. 

per-slst'.  1  par-sist';  li  per-slst',  not  1  par-zist';  2 
per-glst' 

per'son-al-ty.  A  legal  term  properly  signifying  per- 
sonal property,  as  distinguished  from  real  properly,  but 
often  misused  to  signify  either  what  is  worn  on  one's 
person  or  what  one  personally  owns,  in  distinction 
from  property  held  in  common  with  others  or  in  trust. 
Some  years  ago,  a  lady  In  England  .  .  .  who  wished  to 
leave  to  her  servant  her  clothing,  jewels,  etc.,  described 
them  as  her  personalty,  and  unwittingly  included  In  her 
bequest  ten  thousand  pounds.  Mathews  Words:  Their 
Use  and  Abuse  ch.  xiv,  p.  365. 

p^e-nom'en-a.  The  plural  of  phenomenon,  sometimes 
ignorantly  used  for  the  singular. 

pl-an'o.     Plural  pianos,  not  pianoes. 

piece.  Used  locally  in  the  United  States  for  "  bit," 
meaning  a  small  indefinite  time  or  space.  The  use 
should  be  avoided  as  a  provincialism,  as  in  "  Can't 
you  wait  a  piece  f  "    "  He  went  down  the  road  a  piece." 

place.  Used  objectively  without  a  preposition,  or  even 
adverbially;  a  provincialism  common  in  parts  of  tin 
United  States;  as,  "  She  is  always  wanting  to  gs 
places";  "Can't  I  £70  any  place  (anyu'herc)l "  "I 
must  go  some  place  (somewhere)  ":  "  I  can't  find  it  anj 
place."  All  such  forms  are  solecisms.  See  con» 
8TRUCT10N. 

plen'ty.  For  ple.ntifvl:  a  common  fault,  even  among 
the  fairly  educated;  as,  "  Fruit  is  plenty." 

plurals.  Solecisms,  as  violations  of  the  principles 
of  grammatical  construction  in  the  use  of  the  plural, 
are  exceedingly  numerous.  Compare  construction. 
They  most  commonly  arise  from  violating  the  follow- 
ing rules: 

I.   In  the  grammatical  inflection  of  words. 
1.  A  compound  word,  whether  hyphened  or  solid, 
forms  its  plural  by  adding  s  at  the  end  of  the  whole 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used>  see  page  8. 


56  Faulty  Diction 

word,  and  not  at  the  end  of  any  one  of  its  component 
parts;  thus,  spoonfuls,  handfuls.  (See  note  under 
-FUL,  in  vocabulary.)  A  few  compounds,  with  ele- 
ments in  regular  grammatical  construction,  form  ex- 
ceptions to  this  rule;  as,  sistersnn'law,  men*of'war. 
Courts  martial  and  cousins  german  are  not  exceptions 
to  the  rule  given  above,  for  court  martial  is  a  phrase 
made  up  of  a  noun  and  an  adjective  —  simply  martial 
court :  the  same  is  true  of  cousin  german,  knight  errant, 
etc.     See  knxght. 

2.  Words  «nding  in  y  preceded  by  a  vowel  add  s  to 
fornx  the  plural,  according  to  the  common  rule,  but 
words  ending  in  y  preceded  by  a  consonant  change  j/ 
to  ies  to  form  the  plural;  thus,  chimney,  chimneys; 
attorney,  attorneys;  monkey,  monkeys;  donkey,  don' 
keys;  but  mercy,  mercies;  supply,  supplies;  pony, 
•ponies,  etc. 

3.  The  first  element  of  an  ordinary  compound 
composed  of  two  nouns,  even  tho  it  may  refer  to  a 
whole  class  of  things,  is  never  pluralized.  We  say 
bookkeeper  (a  keeper  of  books),  bookbinder,  fox'hunter, 
hair'brunh;  xiot  bookskeeper,  booksbinder,  foxes'hunter, 
and  hairs'brush.  So  footstool,  not  feetstool;  toothache, 
not  teethache;  woman-hater,  not  women'hater. 

4.  The  second  element  of  a  compound  whose  first 
element  is  a  numeral  adjective  is  not  pluralized;  thus, 
a  teri'foot  (not  tewfeet)  rule;  a  threcstory  house;  a  two* 
mile  race. 

5.  Certain  words  denoting  a  quantity,  measure, 
weight,  or  the  like,  are  used  in  the  singular  after  a 
numerical  adjective;  as,  brace,  couple,  dozen,  gross, 
head,  pair,  score,  yoke.  We  say  "  three  dozen  eggs  "; 
"  twenty  head  of  cattle  ";  "  five  yoke  of  oxen."  Tho 
number  of  words  so  used  is  much  less  than  formerly, 
and  tends  to  diminish;  three  pairs  of  shoes  would  by 
very  many  persons  be  preferred  to  three  pair. 

II.  In  the  grammatical  construction  of  words. 

1.  Nouns  plural  in  form,  but  singular  in  sense, 
should  not  be  used  with  plural  construction;  as,  "  Tho 
latest  news  is,"  not  "  The  latest  news  are  ";  "  No 
other  means  is  to  be  found,]'  not  "  No  other  means 
are  to  be  found  ";  "  Economics  is  a  useful  study,"  not 
"  Economics  are,"  etc.  We  say  correctly  "  This  is 
a  means  to  an  end  ";  but  when  means  refers  to  mora 
than  one  device,  plan,  or  the  like,  it  is  plural;  a^ 
"  Various  means  were  tried."  We  say  also  "  His  re- 
mains were  laid  in  the  grave,"  because  the  word  is 
commonly  used  for  parts  that  are  left  of  anything,  as 
the  remains  of  a  fence,  of  a  ruined  castle,  of  a  dinner, 
etc. 

2.  A  multiple,  or  a  sum  or  collection  of  units,  ia 
viewed  as  a  singular,  and  should  be  so  used.  "  That 
hundred  dollars  is  here  "  is  correct  when  the  amount 
is  viewed  as  one  sum.  When  the  separate  coins  are 
referred  to,  the  expression  is  plural;  as,  "  Those  hun- 
dred dollars  were  all  coined  last  year."  Whether  we 
should  say  "  Threo  times  three  are  nine,"  or  "  Three 
times  three  is  nine,"  "  Seven  and  five  are  [or  is] 
twelve,"  depends  upon  whether  the  numbers  are  re- 
garded as  made  up  of  so  many  separate  factors,  or 
simply  as  an  ne;gref;ate.  The  mathematical  sign  = 
is  always  read  "  equals,"  whatever  the  quantities  pre- 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see.page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  57 

ceding  it,  which  seems  to  favor  the  use  of  t«  in  like 
situations. 

3.  A  singular  subject  takes  a  singular  verb,  even 
when  that  subject  is  followed  by  a  dependent  plural: 
as,  "  A  great  quantity  of  fossil  remains  was  found," 
not "  A  great  quantity  .  .  .  uiere  found."  Violations 
of  this  rule  can  always  be  avoided  by  a  simple  test: 
leave  out  all  the  dependent  words,  see  what  verbal 
form  the  subject  then  requires,  and  use  that  form, 
regardless  of  the  dependent  words  intervening.  "  Not 
one  of  our  friends  were  present  ";  cut  out  the  depend- 
ent phrase  "  of  our  friends,"  and  "  Not  one  .  .  . 
were  "  is  at  once  seen  to  be  incorrect;  the  sentence 
ehould  be  "  Not  one  of  our  friends  was  present." 
_  4.  Each  and  every  require  singular  verbs.  A  viola- 
tion of  this  rule  is  a  common  form  of  the  error  just 
noted.  Fitzedward  Hall  (.Modem  English  ch.  iv,  p. 
117)  quotes  from  Bentley,  "The  words  .  .  .  every 
one  of  which  were  in  print  before  I  used  them."  This 
should,  of  course,  be  "  every  one  .  .  .  was."  "  Each 
of  the  men  were  paid  a  dollar";  evidently,  "Each 
.  .  .  was." 

5.  Collective  nouns  are  followed  by  verbs  and  pro- 
nouns in  the  singular  or  in  the  plural  according  as  they 
are  regarded  collectively  or  distributively.  In  the 
sentence  "  There  was  a  large  congregation,"  the  as- 
sembly is  spoken  of  collectively,  or  as  a  whole.  If  the 
word  is  used  distributively,  that  i?,  if  anything  sug- 
gests the  idea  of  the  component  individuals,  a  plural 
verb  should  be  used,  as  in  the  sentence  "  The  con- 
gregation were  not  all  of  the  same  opinion."  The 
choice  of  a  singular  or  a  plural  verb  in  cases  where 
either  form  would  be  proper  is  hence  often  influenced 
by  the  writer's  way  of  looking  at  the  subject. 

6.  A  pronoun  must  agree  in  number  with  its  antece- 
dent. An  indefinite  antecedent  is  often  mistaken  for 
a  plural,  as  in  the  sentence  "  If  any  one  has  been 
overlooked  they  may  raise  their  hand."  This  error 
arises  from  the  lack,  in  our  language,  of  a  singular 
pronoun  of  common  gender.  No  one  but  a  lawyer 
would  care  to  say  "  If  any  one  has  been  overlooked, 
he  or  she  may  raise  his  or  her  hand."  The  common 
solutions  are:  (1)  To  alter  the  construction,  using 
the  definite  article,  where  it  is  necessary,  instead  of 
the  pronoun;  as,  "  Any  one  who  has  been  overlooked 
may  raise  the  hand,"  or  "  If  any  of  you  have  been 
overlooked  you  may  raise  your  hand."  (2)  To  use 
he  in  its  general  sense  as  representing  both  masculine 
and  feminine.     See  he,  2,  in  Standard  Dictionary. 

To  meet  this  deficiency  of  the  language,  th(m.  haa 
been  suggested.  See  thon,  in  Faulty  Diction  and  in 
Funk  &  Waqnalls  New  Stand.^kd  Diction.vry. 

7.  A  plural  verb  or  pronoun  never  should  be  used 
with  two  subjects  in  the  singular  connected  by  a 
simple  disjunctive,  as  or. 

When  you  wish  to  use  very  dry  bread  for  any  purpose, 

soak  it  in  cold  milk  or  water,  Instead  of  having  Ihem  hot. 

Housekeeping  column  of  New  York  newspaper. 

This  is  plainly  wrong.  It  would  be  possible  to  say 
"  either  of  them  ";  but  the  best  way  is  to  avoid  the 
pronoun  and  use  a  noun.     Say  "  instead  of  having 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


58  Faulty  Diction 

the  liquid  hot  "  or  better  "  in  cold  instead  of  hot  milk 
or  water." 

po'em.     1  po'em;  2  p6'6m,  not  1  pom;  2  pom. 

poign'ant.  Pronounced  without  the  g,  poin'ant.  So 
its  derivatives,  poignancy,  pein'an-si,  and  poignantly 
pein'ont-li. 

po-lice'.     1  po-lis';  2  po-lii;,  not  1  po'lis;  2  po'llg. 

por'trait.     1  per'tnt;  2  por'trit. 

pos-sess'ive,  doub'Ie.  "  A  story  of  my  father's  " 
"A  servant  of  his  aunt's";  "A  command  of  the 
king's."  This  construction  is  usually  explained  as 
an  elliptical  partitive  genitive;  as,  "A  servant  of  his 
aunt's  "  is  equivalent  to  "  One  of  his  aunt's  servants," 
etc.  This  so=called  double  possessive,  however,  is  not 
restricted  to  expressions  that  can  be  thus  explained. 
One  hears  "  That  house  of  A's,"  though  the  speaker 
knows  that  A  has  but  one  house,  and  even  such  ex- 
clamations as  "  That  rasping  voice  of  Bridget's." 

In  the  Shakespearian  period  the  use  of  the  double 
possessive  ("  money  of  the  king's,"  1  Henry  I  V.  ii,  2) 
was  not  uncommon,  but  before  that  time  its  employ- 
ment seems  to  have  been  rather  rare,  except  in  con- 
nection with  the  possessive  pronouns,  as  in  "  a  friend 
of  mine,"  "  a  cousin  of  thine."  The  latter  form  of 
the  double  possessive  goes  back  to  an  early  period  — 
as  is  seen  in  Chaucer's  "  every  knight  of  his."  It  ia 
a  reasonable  conjecture  that  the  pronominal  double 
possessive  originated  in  a  construction  allied  to  the 
partitive  genitive,  altho  Maetzner  (after  citing  numer- 
ous instances  of  its  early  use)  says: 

The  origin  of  this  form  of  speech  seems  lost  In  popular 
language;  the  most  ancient  period  of  the  language  presents 
no  support  for  it.  Grammar  vol.  lii,  p.  22'i. 
The  partitive  sense,  however,  had  ceased  to  be  an 
essential  element  of  the  double  possessive  in  Shake- 
speare's time,  and  probably  at  a  period  considerably 
earlier. 

The  value  of  the  double  possessive  as  a  vehicle  of 
thought  is  unquestionable.  It  distinguishes  emphati- 
cally a  phase  of  the  subjective  genitive  from  all  phases 
of  the  objective  genitive.  A  language  that  permits 
the  distinctive  phrases  "  A  criticism  of  him  "  and  "  A 
criticism  of  his,"  "  A  portrait  of  mine,"  and  "  A  por- 
trait of  me,"  "  A  notion  of  Peter  "  and  "  A  notion  of 
Peter's,"  is  certainly  richer  in  capacity  of  expression 
than  a  language  limited  to  either  of  these  construc- 
tions. And,  in  spite  of  ignorant  censure  of  the  double 
possessive,  literary  usage  has  long  accepted  it. 

possessires.  Some  of  the  difficulties  or  errors  in  the 
use  of  the  possessive  case  are  as  follows: 

1.  Where  several  coordinate  nouns  are  in  the  pos- 
Bessive,  the  strict  grammatical  requirement  would  be 
the  inflection  of  each;  but  the  awkwardness  of  such 
a  succession  of  possessives  forbids  its  use.  A  com- 
mon way  of  avoiding  the  difBculty  is  to  inflect  only 
the  last  of  the  series;  but  this  is  incorrect  unless  the 
series  of  names  forms  a  combined  nam.e,  as  that  of  a 
business  firm.  The  preferable  way  is  to  discard  the 
possessive  form  tor  the  objective  case  with  of.  Thus, 
instead  of  "  John's,  William's,  and  James's  father," 
or  "  John,  William,  and  James's  father,"  it  is  better 
to  say  "  The  father  of  John,  William,  and  James." 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  59 

In  the  case  of  a  business  firm  the  form  "  Smith  & 
Jones's  warehouse  "  would  be  correct. 

2.  Where  possessive  nouns  are  in  apposition,  the 
same  difficulty  arises.  "  At  my  friend's  the  banker's 
hoase  "  would  be  the  strict  grammatical  form;  but 
"  At  my  friend  the  banker's  house,"  the  idiomatic 
form.  The  difficulty  may  be  avoided,  as  in  the  pre- 
ceding case,  by  chunking  the  construction  to  "  At  the 
house  of  my  friend  the  banker." 

3.  When  a  participle  or  participial  phrase  is  de- 
pendent on  a  noun  or  pronoun,  that  noun  or  pronoun 
is  often  incorrectly  put  in  the  objective  case  instead 
of  in  the  possessive;  as,  "  The  cause  of  your  brother 
(rather,  brother's)  writing  the  letter  ";  "  The  tact  of 
a  watchman  (rather,  watchman's)  being  employed." 
Here  the  thing  affirmed  is  not  "  the  cause  of  your 
brother  "  nor  "  the  fact  of  a  watchman  ";  it  ia  "  the 
cause  of  .  .  .  writing  ";  "  the  fact  of  .  .  .  being 
employed."  That  is,  the  act  or  state  is  spoken  of, 
and  spoken  of  as  belonging  to  a  person;  and  the  word 
denoting  the  person  should  be  in  the  possessive. 

In  the  case  of  pronouns,  the  correct  usage  is  fol- 
lowed by  all  good  speakers  and  writers;  as,  "  The 
cause  of  my  (your,  his,  her,  our,  their)  writing,"  etc. 
It  is  with  nouns  only  that  there  is  any  doubt,  and 
then  often  simply  because  the  possessive  form  be- 
comes clumsy;  e.  g.,  "  To  provide  for  every  particular's 
being  correctly  stated."  In  such  case  it  may  be  bet- 
ter to  change  the  construction,  and  say  "  To  provide 
for  the  correct  statement  of  every  particular.'  This 
is  especially  desirable  where  the  noun  is  in  the  plural, 
BO  that  to  the  ear  the  phrase  is  ambiguous.  "  As  to 
the  translators  having  often  injudiciously  used,"  etc., 
leaves  the  hearer  doubtful  whether  the  expression  re- 
fers to  one  or  more  than  one  translator.  Change  to 
■'.\s  to  the  frequent  injudicious  use  by  the  translators." 

4.  Possessive  pronouns  ending  in  s  are  not  ordinary 
possessive  forms,  and  therefore  do  not  take  the  apos- 
trophe; hers,  its,  ours,  yours,  theirs,  not  her's,  it's, 
our's,  yours,  their  s. 

5.  For  the  form  of  the  possessive  in  nouns  ending 
in  sibilants,  see  's,  in  Funk  &  Wagxaxls  New  Stand- 
ard DiCTIONART. 

post.  In  the  sense  of  inform,  a  colloquial  use  derived 
from  trade,  ordinarily  undesirable.  "  He  is  well  in- 
formed "  is  better  than  "  He  is  posted." 

prac'ti-cal.  Often  misused  for  "  skilled  "  or  "  skilful," 
as  on  a  barber's  sign,  "  Practical  Hair»Cutting." 
What  would  "  theoretical  hair^cutting  "  be? 

pre-ce'dence.  1  pn-sl'dens;  2  pre-je'dfen? ,  not  1  pres'- 
i-dens;  2  prec'e-dSng. 

pre-dic'a-ment.  1  pn-dik'a-ment  or  -mant;  2  pre- 
dlc'a-ment  or  -ment,  not  1  por-dik'-;  2  per-dlc'-. 

pref'er-a-ble.  1  pref'ar-a-bl;  2  pr6f'er-a-bl,  not  1  pra- 
fur'a-bl;  2  pre-fer'a-bl. 

prepositions.  Some  authorities  object  to  the  use  of  a 
preposition  as  the  final  word  in  a  sentence,  but  such 
usage  is  in  accord  with  the  genius  of  all  the  Teutonio 
languages.  The  correctness  of  such  usage  —  often 
the  necessity  for  it  —  is  to  be  determined  by  the  mean- 
ing intended  to  be  conveyed.     For  the  general  prin- 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


60  Faulty  Diction 

ciples  governing  the  position  of  relational  words,  see 

CONSTRUCTION. 

pres"en-ta'tioD.  1  prez'en-te'^an;  2  prg§"6n-Ui'- 
shon,  not  1  pri'zen-;  2  pre'gfn-. 

pre-sen'tl-ment.  1  pri-sen'ti-ment  or  -mant;  2  prS- 
sCn'ti-mSnt  or  -ment,  not  1  prl-zen'-;  2  pre-g6n'-. 

pre-vent'a-tlve.  A  spurious  variant  of  preventive, 
formed  to  correspond  with  such  words  as  demonstra- 
tive, but  resting  on  a  false  analogy,  since  there  is  no 
form  preventate  from  which  to  derive  it.  Moreover, 
there  is  no  "  antecedent  blank  "  to  be  suppUed  by  it, 
preventive  being  the  universally  accepted  word  for 
the  idea  to  be  expressed  by  it. 

pre'vi-OUS.  Used  as  an  adverb  for  previously  without 
grammatical  warrant,  though  occasionally  by  good 
writers.  Not  "  previous  to,"  but  "  previously  to." 
When  the  use  is  adjectival,  the  proper  word  is  pre- 
vious; when  adverbial,  previously.  However,  there 
is  really  no  occasion  to  use  previous  as  an  adverb  while 
we  have  the  better  word  before;  as,  "A  quarter's 
notice  is  required  before  (not  previous,  nor  previously:, 
to)  the  removal  of  a  pupil." 

prln'cess.     Pronounced  1  prin'ses;  2  prin'^f^s. 

pris'tine.  1  pris'tm;  2  pris'tin,  not  1  pris-tin';  3 
prls-tin'. 

prob'a-bly.  Three  clear  syllables,  preb'a-bli,  never 
preb'li;  the  latter  an  error  so  frequent,  and  so  fixed 
in  some  careless  minds,  that  the  word  is  even  writtea 
probly. 

pro-cllv'I-ty.  In  its  modern  use,  always  in  unfavor- 
able sense  (Latin  proclivis,  dowa=-hilI) ;  as,  a  proclivity 
to  steal;  a  proclivity  to  grumble.  We  do  not  now  say 
"  He  has  a  proclivity  for  art,  music,  or  poetry  "  — 
rather  aptitude,  taste,  or  talent  —  nor  "  The  young 
man  has  virtuous  proclivities  "  —  rather  tendencies, 
inclinations,  or  impulses.  Altho  once  deemed  an 
Americanism,  the  word  has  been  shown  to  have  the 
warrant  of  approved  use  in  early  English,  originally 
in  the  favorable  sense  that  it  has  since  lost. 

pro'gramme,  pro'gram.  The  former,  the  French 
spelling  of  this  word,  has  been  till  recently  the  com- 
mon form.  Now  the  Anglicized  and  more  compact 
program  is  preferred,  but  must  not  be  pronounced 
pro'grm,  any  more  than  telegram,  tel'e-grm. 

prom'ise.  Always  properly  refers  to  the  future;  as,  "  I 
promise  to  go  ";  "  I  promise  to  pay."  An  affected 
misuse  makes  it  equivalent  to  assure,  and  even  refers 
it  to  the  past;  as,  "  I  was  frightened,  I  promise  you  ": 
a  faulty  usage  parallel  to  that  of  expect.     See  expect. 

pro-po'sal,  prop"o-si'tion.  Usefully  discriminated; 
as,  "  He  rejected  the  proposal  of  his  brother  ";  "  He 
demonstrated  a  proposition  in  Euclid."  A  proposal 
is  "  something  offered  to  be  done  ";  a  proposition, 
"  something  submitted  for  one's  consideration." 

pro-pose'.  Misused  for  purpose  or  intend;  as,  "  I  don't 
propose  to  be  imposed  on  ";  "I  propose  to  get  my 
lunch  early." 

profes-ta'tlon.  1  pret'es-te'^an;  2  prot"6s-ta'shon, 
not  1  pro'tes-;  2  pro'tSs-. 

prov'en.  Proved  is  the  true  English  preterite  and  past 
participle  of  prove:  proven,  tho  an  irregular  form  and 
originally  a  Scotticism,  and  used  for  proved  chiefly 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  61 

in  luw  courts  and  documents,  baa  had  wide  usage 
amoHK  good  authorities. 

pro-vi'dlug.  Often  inaccurately  used  as  a  conjunction 
for  provided.  Not  "  Frovidiny  he  has  the  money," 
but  "  Provided  he  has  the  money." 

put.  For  run  or  ran:  as,  "  Vou  ought  to  have  seen  him 
pxa  ";  "Then  he  ptd  (somc-iinics  put  out)  for  home": 
an  archaic  usage  now  appearing  as  a  colloquial  Ameri- 
canism. Stay  put  in  the  sense  of  "  remain  where  (or 
as)  placed  "  is  also  an  Americanism,  never  used  (un- 
less playfully)  by  correct  speakers. 


Q 


Qaad-ru'ma-na.     1  kwed-ru'ms-na;  2  kwgid-ru'ma- 

na,  not  1  kwed-ru-me'na;  2  kw5id-ru-ma'na. 

qiiag'gy.     1  kwag'r,  2  kwag'y,  not  1  kweg'i;  2  kw^ig'y. 

QUal'i-ty.  Etymologically,  "  property  whether  good 
or  bad  "  (Latin  quaiis,  of  what  sort).  This  is  the 
proper  sense;  but  some  modern  English  writers  seem 
to  be  aping  the  French  usage  of  restricting  it  to  "  good 
quality  ";  as,  "  They  enumerated  his  qualities  and  his 
defects";  better  "  his  excellencies  and  his  defects." 
Another  restricted  use  of  tjuatiiy  for  "  high  estate,"  or 
"  persons  of  high  rank  or  standing  "  —  common  a 
century  ago,  especially  in  England  —  is  now  proWn- 
cial  or  obsolete. 

qiian'(i-ty.  Properly  said  of  that  which  is  measurable, 
as  number  is  of  that  which  may  be  counted.  In  mathe- 
matics number  is  numerical  quantity,  as  distinguished 
from  physical  quantity,  but  in  ordinary  use  number  and 
quantity  are  distinct  in  sense,  and  quantity,  in  such 
expressions  as  "a  quantity  of  people,"  "  a  quantity  of 
birds,"  is  decidedly  inanpropriate.  For  other  use's 
oi  quintity.  sec  Funk  &  W.\gnall8  New  St.\ndard 
Dictionary. 

quash.     1  kwe^;  2  kwash,  not  1  kwa^;  2  kwSsh. 

quick'ly.  A  synonym  of  soon,  but  not  always  inter- 
changeable with  it.  In  strict  use  quickly  refers  to  the 
speed  of  the  action;  as,  "  I  will  do  it  quickly  ";  soori, 
to  the  early  beginning  of  the  action;  as,  "  I  will  do  it 
soon." 

quite.  Strictly  means  "completely,"  "wholly";  as 
"  His  task  is  quite  done."  Its  loose  use,  as  meaning 
"  very,"  "  considerably,"  has  been  severely  criticized, 
though  it  has  the  authority  of  many  great  literary 
names,  as  Macaulay,  Goldsmith,  Gibbon,  Ga.v,  Gray, 
ana  Cowper;  as,  "  They  are  quite  lo\-ing  ";  "  Qtnte  a 
eevere  article."  In  many  phrases  it  is  impossible  to 
tell  whether  quite  means  completely,  wholly,  or  very. 

^Uite  SO.  In  England  and  to  some  extent  in  the  United 
States  an  overworked  formula  of  assent;  as,  "  He 
talks  indiscreetly."  "  Quite  so:  quite  so."  "  I  think 
we  shall  arrive  in  time."      "  Quite  so:  quite  .so." 

quite  some.  A  local  colloquialism,  wholly  indefensible. 

quo 'rum.  1  kwo'rum;  2  kwo'rum,  not  1  kwer'um;  2 
kwor'um. 

quo'tlent.  1  kwo'^ient:  2  kwo'shgnt,  not  1  ko'^-ent; 
2  ko'shi-ent. 


For  Kcy.s  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


62  Faulty  Diction 

R 

K.  Its  omission,  misplacement,  and  faulty  enunciation 
to  be  guarded  against.  Not  nev'a,  but'a,  lak,  laj, 
led  Nu  Yok,  befo',  for  never,  butler,  lark,  large.  Lord, 
New  York,  before.  Not  wodh'er,  ho'wid,  etc.,  for 
rather,  horrid,  etc.  Do  not  insert  r  to  fill  the  hiatus 
that  occurs  when  a  word  ending  with  a  vowel  is  fol- 
lowed by  one  beginning  with  a  vowel:  a  practise  at 
once  careless  and  lazy,  that  converts  the  proper  name 
Amelia  Ann  into  an  allegation  Amelia  ran.  Do  not 
say,  ler,  jer,  for  law,  jam. 

rad'ish.     1  rad'i^;  2  rad'ish,  not  1  red'i^;  2  rM'ish. 

raise.  Raise,  "to  cause  to  rise;  elevate  ";  never  to  be 
used  intransitively.  "  He  was  so  weak  that  he  could 
not  raise,"  "  He  could  not  raise  in  the  saddle  "  — 
(raise  wlat?);  the  meaning  is  "  He  could  not  rise.'' 
But  we  correctly  say  "  He  could  not  raise  himself,  hia 
hand,  or  his  head."     Compare  lie  and  lay;  sit  and 

SET. 

raise  clili'dren.  Raise,  "  to  rear  (an  animal),"  never 
to  be  used  of  bringing  human  beings  to  maturity:  a 
misuse  common  in  the  southern  and  western  United 
States.  Cattle  are  raised:  human  beings  are  brought 
tip,  or,  in  older  phrase,  reared.  Do  not  say,  with  the 
Westerner,  "  I  have  raised  ten  children,"  nor,  ^dth 
the  old  slave  "  Auntie,"  "  I've  raised  thirteen  head  o' 
children." 

ran 'cor.     1  raq'kar;  2  rSn'cor,  not  1  ran'kar;  2  ran'eor. 

rare'Iy  or  ev'er.  An  incorrect  expression  for  rarely  i} 
ever.     See  seldom. 

ratb'er.  1  ratii'ar  or  rath'ar,  2  ratii'er  or  rath'er,  n«t 
1  ruth'ar;  2  rutii'er.  Superfluous  with  adjectives 
ending  in  -ish,  when  this  implies  rather;  as,  "  rather 
warmish,"  "  rather  coldish."  Charles  Lamb  jestingly 
made  the  error  apparent  in  closing  a  letter  with 
"  yours  ratherish  unwell."  But  with  adjectives  where 
•ish  expresses  quality  only,  not  degree,  rather  is  ad- 
missible, and  may  make  a  neat  distinction;  as,  "  rather 
foolish." 

re"al-i-za'tion.  1  ri'al-i-ze'^an;  2  re'al-i-za'shon, 
not  1  ri°aI-Qiz-e'^an;  2  re"al-Iz-a'shon. 

re'al-ly.     1  ri'al-i;  2  re'al-y,  not  1  ril'i;  2  rel'y. 

rec"i-ta-tive'.  1  res"i-ta-tiv';  2  r65"l-ta-tJv,  not  1 
res'i-te-tiv;  2  rcQ'i-ta-tiv. 

rec'og-nize.  1  rek'og-naiz;  2  rSe'og-niz,  not  1  rek'un- 
aiz;  2  rec'un-iz. 

re^demp'tion.  1  ri-demp'^an;  2  re-dgmp'shon,  not 
1  ri-dem'^an;  2  re-dem'shon. 

rel'a-tive.  More  discriminating  than  relation,  as 
meaning  one  connected  by  blood  or  marriage.  Since 
one  has  numberless  relations  in  other  senses  of  the 
word,  it  can  hardly  be  regretted  that  the  word  relative 
is  supplanting  the  older  form.     See  kinsman. 

rcre'dos.  1  rir'des;  2  rer'dos,  not  1  n-ri'des;  2  re- 
re'dos. 

re-side',  res'i-dence.  Somewhat  stately  words,  not 
to  be  indiscriminately  used  for  live,  house  or  home. 
In  the  legal  sense,  as  affecting,  for  instance,  the  right 
to  vote,  a  man's  residence  may  be  in  a  cheap  lodging* 
house;  but  commonly  the  word  would  be  understood 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  63 

of  a  building  of  some  pretensions.  "  Where  does  he 
livef"  is  ordinarily  better  than  "Where  does  he  re- 
side f"  and  to  call  a  plain  little  cottage  "  my  residence  " 
is  a  bit  of  petty  affectation. 

re-source '.     1  n-sors' ;  2  re-sor?',  not  1  rl'sors;  2  re'sorg. 

res'pl-ra"tor.  1  res'pi-re'tdr  or  -ter;  2  rds'pi-ra'tor  or 
-UiT,  not  1  ri-spair'e-tar;  2  re-spir'a-tor. 

rest'ive.  Natur.illy  understood  by  every  English* 
speaking  person  of  a  horse  resisting  control,  and  seek- 
inc  to  break  from  or  escape  it,  or  of  persons  similarly 
disposed.  But  certain  critics,  ha\ing  determined 
that  restive  must  mean  resting,  attempt  to  apply  rest- 
ing to  the  strained  intensity  of  a  balky  horse  —  an  idea 
that  probably  never  occurred  to  any  one  but  a  critic. 
See  dotiiiitioii  unci  syiiuiiyiii,>  lor  hkstive,  in  Funk  & 
W.^GN.^LLs  N  EW  !St.o.d.\rd  Diction.^ky.  See  examples 
from  Burke,  Coleridge,  De  Quincy,  and  many  others, 
i:i  Hall's  False  Philology,  p.  07. 

re-stor'a-tlve.  1  n-star'a-tiv;  2  re-stor'a-tiv,  not  1 
ri-8ter'8-tiv;  2  re-st6r'a-tiv. 

res"ur-rect'.  A  body'snatchers'  term,  now  creeping 
into  respectable  speech,  and  even  into  literature:  a 
word  undesirable  in  all  uses,  and  in  sacred  use  de- 
plorable. 

re-tail',  vt.,  1  n-tel';  2  re-t.al'.     )  The     grocers     ri-tel' 

1  ?'tail,  a.  &  n.,  1  ri'tel;  2  re'tal.  J  sugar  at  five  cents  a 
pound  when  they  sell  at  ri'tel  in  ri'tel  stores. 

Rev'er-end,  abbr.  Rev.  As  a  title,  should,  like  Honor- 
able, in  strict  propriety  have  the  definite  article,  the 
phrase  being  adjectival;  as,  "  The  Reverend  Thomas 
Jones  ";  or,  if  the  first  name  is  not  used,  we  may  say 
"  The  Reverend  Mr.  Jones."  "  Rev.  Jones,"  often 
used  in  the  western  United  States,  is  harsh  if  not  rude. 
"  Rev.  Mrs."  or  "  Mrs.  Rev.  Jones  "  should  not  be 
used  in  speech  or  writing. 

*e-verse'.  Not  to  be  confounded  with  converse.  Re- 
verse is  the  opposite  or  antithesis  of  something;  minus 
is  the  reverse  of  plus.  The  "  converse  "  is  "  an  op- 
posite reciprocal  proposition,"  reached  by  transposi- 
tion of  the  terms  of  the  proposition,  the  subject  be- 
coming predicate  and  the  predicate  subject;  the  con- 
verse of  the  proposition,  "  If  two  sides  of  a  triangle  be 
ecjual,  the  angles  opposite  to  those  sides  are  equal," 
is,  "  If  two  angles  of  a  triangle  be  equal,  the  sides 
opposite  to  tnose  angles  are  equal."  A  proposition 
and  the  rererse  (or  contradictory)  proposition  can  not 
both  be  true;  the  converse  of  a  true  proposition  may 
or  may  not  be  true. 

re-volt'.  The  transitive  use  of  this  verb,  in  the  sense 
of  "  awaken  aversion  in,"  is  a  modernism,  though 
having  ths  sanction  of  such  names  as  Cowper,  Wal- 
pole,  and  Southey.  The  form  "  Such  a  spectacle  is 
revolting  to  me  "  is,  however,  more  common  than  the 
form  "  Such  a  spectacle  revolts  me." 

rbytbm.     Pronounced  rithm,  never  rith'um. 

ride,  drive.  See  ride;  drive,  in  Funk  &  Waqnalls 
Nmv  Stand.^rd  Dictonary. 

right.  In  the  sense  of  "  obligation  "  or  "  liability,"  a 
barbarous  Briticism  or  Hibernicism;  as,  "  You  have 
a  right  to  be  arrested  if  you  break  the  law." 

rights  and  prly'i-leg-es.  To  be  used  with  discrimina- 
tion.    A  privilege  is  "  something  peculiar  to  one  or 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  sec  page  8. 


64  Faulty  Diction 

some  as  distinguished  from  others,"  "  a  prerogative  "; 
BO  that  the  term  is  to  be  employed  relatively.     "  The 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  people,"  as  often  used  ab- 
solutely hi  political  platforms,  demagogical  speeches, 
and  radical  newspapers,  is  incorrect,  since  the  people 
in  this  sense  can  have  no  privileges,  t.  e.,  "  things 
peculiar    to    individuals."     Milton's    use    is    correct 
when  he  says  "  We  do  not  mean  to  destroy  all  the 
people's  rights  and  privileges,"  since  he  is  speaking  of 
the    people    relatively,    as    distinguished    from    the 
magistrates  and  the  king. 
rind.     1  roind;  2  rind,  not  1  rind;  2  rind. 
risk.     1  risk;  2  risk,  not  1  resk;  2  r6sk. 
road,  coat,  etc.     To  have  the  full,  long  sound  of  o,  not 
obscured  or  shortened. 

Learning  condemns  beyond  the  reach  of  hope 
The  careless  churl  that  speaks  of  s6ap  for  soap: 
Her  edict  exiles  from  her  fair  abode 
The  clownish  voice  that  utters  r6ad  for  road; 
Less  stern  to  him  who  calls  his  coat  his  cOat, 
And  steers  his  bSat,  believing  It  a  l)6at, 
Sht  pardoned  one,  our  classic  city's  boast. 
Who  said  at  Cambridge,  m6st  instead  of  m5st. 
But  knit  her  brows  and  stamped  her  angry  foot 
To  hear  a  Teacher  call  a  root  a  r<5ot. 

O.  W.  Holmes  a  Rhymed  Lesson  st.  43. 

ro-bust'.  1  ro-bust';  2  ro-bust',  not  1  ro'bnst;  2 
ro'bust. 

ro-mance'.  1  ro-mans';  2  ro-manc',  not  1  ro'maus;  2 
ro'manQ. 

ro-se'o-la.  1  ro-zl'o-la;  2  ro-ge'o-la,  not  1  ro'zl-o'la; 
2  r6''8e-6'la. 

ro'ta-lb-ry.  Formerly  objected  to  as  a  vulgar  and 
needless  variant  of  rotary,  but  now  apparently  be- 
coming differentiated  from  rotary  in  meaning.  The 
tendency  is  to  use  rotary  of  the  thing  that  rotates,  or 
is  capable  of  rotation,  or  of  its  motion,  and  rotatory  of 
that  which  effects  or  pertains  in  some  other  way  to 
rotation.  Rotary  more  nearly  approaches  the  parti- 
ciple rotating;  rotatory,  the  noun  rotation  used  as  the 
first  element  of  a  compound.  Thus,  we  speak  of  a 
rotary  (t.  e.,  rotating)  part  or  movement,  but  of  rota- 
tory power  or  action  (i.  e.,  rotation=power,  or  power  of 
rotation). 


sac^cha-rlne.  1  sak'a-nn,  -rin,  or  -rin;  2  sSc'a-rin, 
-rin,  or  -rin. 

Sac"ri-le'gious.  1  sak'n-U'jus;  2  sa,e"'ri-le'gus,  not  1 
-ij'us;  2  -Ig'us. 

Sa-ga 'clous.  1  ss-gS'^us;  2  sa-ga'shus,  not  1  sa- 
ga^'us;  2  sa-gSsh'us. 

said,  says.  1  sed,  sez;  2  sSd,  sS^,  not  1  sed,  sez:  2 
sad,  sag. 

sal'ver.     Pronounced  with  the  I,  sal'ver. 

same.  Often  used  where  similar  is  the  proper  word. 
Sameness  is  absolute  identity;  similarity,  mere  like- 
ness, or  relative  identity.  A  gale  blowing  to^^day 
with  a  velocity  of  00  miles  an  hour  is  similar  to,  but 
is  not  the  same  as,  one  that  blew  with  a  velocity  of  60 
miles  one  year  ago,  although  it  has  the  same  amount 
of  velocity. 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  65 

San'guine.     1  sa^'gwiu;  2  sau'gwiu,  not  1  sag'gwaiii; 

2  sdn'gwin. 
6ar"sa-pa-ril'Ia.     1  sor'se-pa-ril'a;  2  sar'sa-pa-rfl'a, 

iiot  1  sas'-;  2  sas'-. 

saw,  seen.  In  popular  use,  in  some  regions,  often  care- 
lessly and  inexcusably  interchanged.  Saw  is  the  im- 
perfect tense  of  see,  and  to  be  used  as  such  only;  seen 
is  its  past  participle,  and  the  form  to  be  used,  -R-ith 
the  proper  auxiliaries,  in  the  tenses  formed  with  the 
aid  of  the  past  participle.  Not  "  I  seen  him,"  but 
"  I  saw  him  ";  not  "  1  have  (or  had)  never  saw  it," 
but  "  I  have  (or  had)  never  seen  it." 

say  !  I  say  !  As  an  introductory  exclamation,  a  collo- 
quiaUsm  approaching  a  vulgarism. 

says  I.  A  colloquial  solecism  sometimes  heard  from 
even  the  educated;  entirely  indefensible. 

scal'lop.  By  some  arbitrary  exception,  pronounced 
scel'up. 

Scarce'ly.  Often  improperly  used  for  hardly.  In  strict 
use  scarcely  has  reference  to  quantity,  hardly  to  de- 
gree: as,  "  It  is  scarcely  an  hour  to  nightfall  ";  "  Ha 
will  hardly  finish  his  task  by  nightfall."  Scarcely  ia 
not  properly  used  as  a  conjunction;  scarcely  .  .  , 
than.  Not  "  Scarcely  had  I  addressed  him  than  he 
recognized  me,"  but  "  No  sooner  had  I  addressed  him 
than,"  etc. 

scared.     1  skard;  2  se&rd,  not  1  skart;  2  sc&rt. 

score.     See  plur.vl. 

SCytbe.     1  saith;  2  syth,  not  1  snith;  2  syth. 

Seam'stress.  After  long  attempt  to  establish  the  pro- 
nunciation sem'stress,  most  of  the  leading  English 
dictionaries  now  pronounce  this  word  as  it  is  spelled, 
stm'stres. 

scck'el  (variety  of  pear).  1  sek'I;  3  sSk'l,  not  1  sik'l: 
2  sik'l. 

sel'doni  or  ev'er.  A  common  vulgarism  and  solecism. 
A  person  may  say  "  I  seldom  if  ever  use  that  word," 
that  ia,  "  I  seldom  use  it,  if  indeed  I  ever  do  so  ";  or 
he  may  say,  using  a  sUghtly  more  emphatic  form,  "  I 
seldom  or  never  do  it,"  that  is,  "  I  do  it  very  seldom  at 
the  utmost,  or  (in  my  own  opinion)  probably  never." 

sep'a-rate.  As  verb,  1  sep'a-ret;  2  sSp'a-rat;  as  ad- 
jective, 1  sep'a-rit;  2  s6p'a-rat. 

sc-que'la.  1  si-kwi'la;  2  se-kwe'la,  not  1  sek'wi-la;  2 
s(5k'we-la. 

ser 'pen-tlne.  1  sur'pen-toin  or  -tin;  2  8gr'p6n-tm  or 
-tin. 

set,  sit.  In  strict  grammatical  usage  sit  is  always  in- 
transitive when  referring  to  posture;  set,  transitive. 
The  uses  meaning  "  to  sit  on  eggs  "  ("  the  hen  sets  ") 
and  "  to  fit  "  ("  the  coat  sets  well  or  badly  ")  are  col- 
loquialisms, especially  common  in  the  United  States, 
where  many  consider  it  pedantic  to  use  sit  in  these 
senses.  But  literary  usage  has  hardly  sanctioned  set 
as  thus  used,  and  most  authorities  hold  that  it  should 
be  employed  in  this  way  only  colloquially. 

sew'age,  sew'er-age.  Sewerage  is  the  system  of  sewers, 
sewage  the  waste  matter  carried  away  in  them. 

shall,  will.  Often  erroneously  interchanged.  In  gen- 
eral, simple  futurity  is  expressed  by  shall  in  the  first 
person  and  will  in  the  second  and  third,  while  deter- 
mination is  expressed  by  will  in  the  first  and  shall  in 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


66  Faulty  Diction 

the  second  and  third.  In  interrogations  in  the  second 
and  third  persons  the  usage  is  not  so  simple,  the  speak- 
er often  putting  himself  in  the  place  of  the  one  spoken 
to  or  spoken  of,  and  using  shall  or  viiU,  as  if  for  the 
first  person.  See  shall  and  will,  in  Funk  &  Waq- 
NALLS  New  Standard  DicTiONARr. 
Sbould,  would.  These  words  follow  in  the  main  the 
usage  of  shall  and  will,  but  with  certain  modifications 
required  by  their  common  use  in  dependent  sentences. 
In  general,  in  indirect  quotation  should  is  to  be  used 
after  a  historical  tense  where  the  speaker  quoted  em- 
ployed shall,  and  would  where  tbe  speaker  quoted 
employed  will.     Thus: 

i  Direct  quotation:  "  He  said  to  me, '  You  shall  go.'  '* 
Indirect        "  "  He  said  that  I  s^iouW  go." 

Direct  "  "  He  said  to  me,  '  Will  you  go?'  " 

Indirect        "  "  He  asked  me  if  I  ti)OMW  go." 

The  mixture  of  direct  and  indirect  is  always  wrong; 
as,  "  He  asked  me  would  I  go." 

A  correspondent  of  a  leading  New  York  dail.v  news- 
paper, himself  a  well=known  editor,  writes:  "  As  we 
have  the  gold  standard  established,  we  would  lose 
thousands  of  millions  and  gain  nothing  by  its  dis- 
establishment." This  statement  as  it  stands  ex- 
presses a  national  wish  for  the  loss  of  this  vast  sum. 
It  is  as  if  the  writer  nad  said  in  direct  statement,  "  We 
will  lose  thousands  of  millions,"  i.  e.,  it  is  our  inten- 
tion to  do  so.  "  We  shall  lose  thousands  of  millions  " 
simply  states  a  future  fact.  This,  put  into  the  form 
of  irdirect  statement,  must  become  should:  as,  "  We 
should  lose  thousands  of  millions,"  such  loss  being  the 
inevitable  result,  the  necessary  future  of  such  action, 
though  not  by  our  intent  or  will. 
sbould  seem,  would  seem.  The  softening  of  assertion 
belongs  to  the  amenities  of  literature.  Even  seem  is 
sometimes  too  strong,  or,  oftener,  the  writer  desires 
to  give  his  reader  an  impression  of  extreme  modera- 
tion of  statement  or  of  the  writer's  cautious  distrust 
of  his  own  opinion;  as,  "  It  would  seem  that  he  was 
misinformed  ";  "  It  would  seem  that  so  far  England 
and  the  United  States  were  in  accord."  This  use  of 
would  is  not  exceptional;  it  is  constantly  resorted  to 
in  softening  commands,  directions,  requests,  sugges- 
tions, etc.;  as,  "  It  would  be  well  to  return  before  sun- 
set"; "  Would  you  object  to  stopping  at  the  post* 
office?  " 

"  It  would  seem  so,"  evidently,  thus  means  some- 
thing different  from  "  It  should  seem  so  "  —  the  latter 
being  used  as  an  inversion  in  this  and  other  like  cases 
for  "  It  seems  that  it  should  be  so."  A  says  "  I  think 
the  writer  is  in  error."  B  concurs  by  saying  "  It 
should  seem  so  "  —  meaning  "  It  seems  that  the  facts 
are  such  that  the  writer  must  be  regarded  as  being  in 
error."  Odd  as  this  misplacement  of  should  is,  it 
probably  antedates  the  Elizabethan  period.  In  wri- 
ters that  have  come  into  prominence  since  the  middle 
of  the  19th  century,  it  would  seem  is  commoner  than 
it  should  seem,  and  if  the  former  should  eventually  dis- 
place it  should  seem,  the  phrase  substituted  would  be 
one  that  accords  with  analogy. 
Shr.     Not  to  be  pronounced  sr;  shrill,  1  ^ril,  not  sril; 

For  Keys  to  Syuibols  used,  see  page  3. 


Faulty  Diction  67 

2  shrll,  nnt  sril;  shrewd,  1  ^rud,  not  srud;  2  ^iryd, 
not  sr\id;  shriek,  1  shrik,  not  srik;  2  shrik,  n«<  srik. 
Sigbt.    Vor  a  great  nxinibcr  or  quantity:  as,  "  There  wna 
a  siffnt  of  people  ";  "  He  made  a  sight  of  money  ":  a 
slovenly  colloquial  use. 
since,  ado.     1  sins;  2  sin?,  not  1  sens;  2  sCnc.     Used  in 
the  sense  of  ago,  it  refers  to  quite  recent  past  time, 
while  ago  covers  past  time  in  general;  as,  "  A  mes- 
senger was  here  to  see  you."     "  How  long  since  f  "  or 
"  How  long  agot"     But  if  one  says,  "The  Spanish 
Armada  was  destroyed,"  to  ask,  "  How  long  since  f  " 
instead  of  "How  long  ago  '  "  would  have  a  grotescjue 
effect  as  if  the  event  had  happened  lately. 
Why,  sir,  I  brought  you  word  an  hour  since. 

Shakespeare  CoTnedy  of  Errors  act  Iv,  sc.  3. 
**  He  died  a  century  ago." 
Slr'name.     A  misspelling  of  surname. 
sleek.     1  silk;  2  slok,  not  1  slik;  2  silk. 
Slougb.     Three  senses  and  three  corresponding  pro- 
nunciations, 1  sIqu;  2  slow;  1  slu;  2  shi;  1  sluf ;  2  sluf. 
See  slough'.  ^  &  3_   ;„  Funk    &    Wagnalls    New 
Stand.ard  Dictionary. 
soft'en.     Drops  the  t  in  pronunciation,  1  .sef'n;  2  sof'n; 
a.s   do  all  its  derivatives.     See   Funk  &   Wagnalls 
New  Standard  Dictionary. 
SO'Journ.    As  meaning  to  "  have  a  residence,  definite 
though  temporary,  in  some  place  that  is  not  one's 
home  ":  once  obsolescent,  but  now  revived  as  supply- 
ing a  lexical  blank.     Sojourn  is  incomparably  better 
than  the  colloquial  stop,  which  may  imply  merely 
momentary  cessation  of  motion,  and  does  not  properly 
express  even  temporary  residence:  more  specific  than 
stay,  which  may  apply  to  a  delay  of  an  hour  between 
trains  or  the  passing  of  a  night.     There  is  no  other 
single  English  "nord  to  express  the  kind  of  residence 
expressed  by  sojourn. 
sold'er.     1  sed'ar;  2  sod'er;  the  pronunciation  1  so'dar; 

2  so'der  (as  if  spelled  sawder)  wholly  inadmissible. 
sol'e-cism.     1   sel'i-sizm;   2   s61'e-cl§m,   not   1   so'la- 

sizm;  2  so'le-^Ijm.     See  construction. 
solemn  style.    So  called  from  its  use  in  prayer.     Its 
characteristic  features  are  the  use  of  thou,  thee,  and 
thy  or  thine,  in  reference  to  the  Deity,  with  archaio 
inflections  of  the  verb  in  the  second  and  third  person 
singular;  requiring  for  its  mastery  and  consistent  use 
thorough  grammatical  training  and  careful  study  of 
the  English  Bible. 
sol'stice.     1  sel'stis;  2  sol'sttf,  not  1  sol'stis;  2  aol'stT^. 
some,  adv.     Used  for  somewhat;  as,  "  I  am  some  tired,  ' 
is  a  bad  provincialism.     The  restrictive  use  of  some, 
with  a  numeral  in  the  sense  of  about,  is  a  well-estab- 
lished English  idiom,  but  is  unnecessary;  as,  "  Look 
you  bring  me  in  the  names  of  some  six  or  seven." 
Shakespeare  Measure  for  Measure  act  ii,  sc.  I. 
Bome  place.     For  somewhere,  is  inadmissible. 
sort  or  (vulgarly  sorter).     See  kind  of. 
sown.     Mistaken  for  sewed,  as  cloth. 
spasm.     1  spazm;  2  spa.jm,  not  1  spaz'nm;  2  spXg'bm. 
speak  to  a  point,  or  res"o-lu'tlon.    Properly,  speak 

on,  except  when  pertinency  of  remark  is  intended. 
6pe"ci~ari-ty,  spe'cial-ty.     Often  confused.     Speci- 
ality is  the  state  or  quality  of  being  special ;  specialty 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


68  Faulty  Diction 

is  an  employment  to  which  one  is  specially  devoted, 
an  article  in  which  one  specially  deals,  or  the  like. 

Spe't'ies.  The  same  in  singular  and  plural;  not  singu- 
lar spi'cie.     Specie  is  a  distinct  word  meaning  coin. 

spir'it.     L  spir'it;  2  spir'it,  7iot  ].  sper'it;  2  spei'it. 

splen'did.  Applied  properly  to  something  character- 
ized by  splendor;  hence,  its  indiscriminate  application 
to  anything  admired  or  agreeable,  as  "  a  splendid 
man,"  "  a  splendid  dinner,"  "  a  splendid  bargaiji,"  ia 
a  gross  misuse.     See  nice. 

stamp,  II.     1  stamp;  2  stiimp,  not  1  stemp;  2  stamp. 

Stand'point.  Irregularly  formed  —  probably  in  imi- 
tation of  the  German  standp  inkt  —  and  sometimes 
inconsiderately  censured  as  be»ng  a  superfluous  sub- 
stitute for  point  of  view.  That  standpoint  and  point 
of  view  are  not  always  interchangeable  will  be  evident 
when  the  fact  is  recalled  that,  in  literary  usage,  point 
of  view  has  two  dillert'nt  senses:  (i)  The  point  from 
which  one  views.  (2)  The  point  or  relative  place  at 
which  something  is  viewed,  giving  rise  to  the  two 
phrases  "  From  this  point  of  view  "  and  "  In  this  point 
of  view."  Furthermore,  there  is  in  standpoint,  aa 
commonly  employed,  an  implication  of  some  per- 
manence of  position  as  regards  the  view  taken  or  the 
opinion  held;  it  is  especially  applicable  to  principle, 
convictions,  etc.,  as  determining  views.  No  such  im- 
plication of  permanence  attaches  to  point  of  view. 
Lincoln  and  Douglas  argued,  in  their  celebrated  de- 
bate, from  different  standpoints:  at  times  each,  for 
the  purposes  of  argument,  took  the  other's  point  of 
view.  Standpoint,  therefore,  besides  being  conve- 
nient as  a  single  word,  conveys  asuggestion  not  carried 
by  point  of  view,  and,  the  it  is  less  regular  in  forma- 
tion than  standing'point,  its  irregularity  is  not  wholly 
anomalous. 

staves.  As  plural  of  staff,  pronounced  1  stavz;  2  stavg; 
as  plural  of  static,  pronounced  1  stevz;  2  stavs. 

stead 'i-ly.     1  sted'i-li;  2  sted'i-ly,  not  1  stid'-;  2  stld'-. 

stol'id.     1  stel'id;  2  stol'id,  not  1  sto'lid;  2  sto'lid. 

stop.  Misused  for  stay.  To  stop  is  to  cease  moving  or 
acting:  the  reverse  of  start.  "  I  shall  stop  at  Baltimore 
on  my  way  to  Washington  "  is  correct;  but  "How 
long  will  you  stop  f"  is  as  unreasonable  a  question  as 
"  How  long  will  you  start  f"  The  proper  question  is 
"  How  long  will  you  stay  (or  remain)!  ' 

The  true  meaning  of  the  word  stop  was  well  understood 

by  the  man  wlio  did  not  invite  his  professed  friend  to  visit 

him:* "If  you  come,  at  any  time,  within  ten  miles  of  my 

iiouse.  just  slop.' 

Mathews  Words   Their  Use  and  Abuse  ch.  xlv,  p.  359. 

strat 'e-glst.  1  strat'i-jist;  2  strSt'e-gist,  not  1  stre- 
ti'jist;  2  stra-te'gist. 

Strick'en.  As  a  past  participle  of  strike,  archaic  in 
England,  except  when  there  is  an  implication  in  it  of 
misfortune;  as,  "  He  was  stricken  with  paralysis."  In 
the  United  States  stricken,  in  general  applications,  ia 
not  so  distinctly  archaic,  and  its  use  in  reference  to 
the  erasure  of  words  is  very  frequent;  as,  "  It^is  or- 
dered that  the  words  objected  to  be  stricken  out."  Ia 
the  best  literary  usage  of  both  countries  struck  is  pre- 
ferred to  stricken  when  no  implication  of  misfortune 
is  conveyed  in  it.     Stricken  is  the  appropriate  parti- 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  ^ee  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  69 

cipial  adjective;  as,  "a  stricken  mau";  "a  stricken 
deer." 

stu'pid.     1  stiu'pid;  2  stQ'pid,  not  1  stu'pid;  2  stu'pid. 

sue-ceed',  vl.  Tne  transitive  use,  "  If  Providence  suc- 
ceed us  in  this  attempt,"  is  an  archaism  now  almost 
disused. 

suc-''ced'  hlm-self.  In  the  phrase  "  elected  to  suc- 
ceed himself."  This  phrase,  probably  at  first  used 
jocosely,  is  in  danger  of  being  adopted  under  the  im- 
pression  that  it  is  smart.  One  person  succeids  an- 
other, or  one  of  his  terms  of  office«holding  succeeds  his 
own  previous  term,  but  the  person  no  more  succeeds 
himself  than  he  becomes  a  substitute  for  himself. 

SUCb.  Often  used  where  so  is  the  preferable  word. 
"  I  never  have  seen  such  a  man  "  means  "  I  never  have 
seen  a  man  like  that  one  in  appearance  or  character." 
"  I  never  have  seen  such  a  tall  man  "  is  ambiguous: 
it  may  be  intended  to  mean  "  I  never  have  seen  a  tall 
man  like  this  one  in  appearance  or  character,"  in 
which  case  the  form  is  allowable;  or  it  may  mean  "  I 
never  have  seen  so  tall  a  man,"  in  which  case  it  should 
be  so  expressed. 

such  an-oth'er.     A  frequent  error  for  another  such. 

such  a  one.     Never  such  an  one.     See  an,  in  the  Fdnk 
&  Waunalls  Xkw  ^tandaiu)  Dictionary. 
Ho,  such  a  one !  turn  aside,  sit  down  here.      Ruth  Ir,  1. 

SUg-gest'.  1  sug-jest';  2  sug-gest,  not  1  8uj-jest';  2 
sug-ggst'. 

sum'mons,  r.  A  gross  and  useless  provincialism  or 
colloquialism  for  summon,  which  is  the  establishec? 
word  in  legal  and  literary  usage. 

su-pe'rl-or.     Compare  inferior. 

sup'ple.     1  sup'l;  2  siip'l,  not  1  su'pl;  2  Bu'pl. 

sure.  Not  to  be  used  adverbially;  not  "  I'm  going 
sure,"  but  "  I'm  surely  going  ";  not  "  Sure  enough, 
that's  the  same  man,"  but  "  very  surely,"  or  "  cer- 
tainly." 

sym'pa-thize  with,  sym'pa-thy  for.  The  verb  symr- 
palkize  takes  only  with :  the  noun  sympathy,  in  its 
secondary  sense  of  commiseration,  is  often  properly 
followed  by  for.  We  have  sympathy  with  one  s  as- 
pirations, for  his  distress;  the  sound  man  has  sym- 
pathy for  the  wounded ;  the  wounded  man  has  sym- 
pathy with  his  fellow  sufferers. 


take  on.  For  grieve,  scold,  etc.,  like  carry  on  for  be- 
have sportively;  both  may  be  tolerated  as  coUoqiiial- 
isms  that  are  popular  because  of  their  irrationality,  or 
because  they  require  no  discrimination  in  statement. 

take  up  school.  An  objectionable  local  Americanism 
for  begin  school:  used  also  intransitively;  as,  "  School 
took  up  at  9  o'clock,"  for  "  School  began,"  etc. 

tal'ent-ed.  Has  been  objected  to,  first,  because  formed 
contrary  to  English  analogy;  but  we  have  booted, 
taped,  cultured,  leisured,  tippled,  unprincipled,  and 
many  more  such  analogous  forms,  and  have  had  some 
of  them  for  upward  of  three  centuries.  Has  been 
objected  to,  secondly,  as  based  on  a  false  metaphor, 

For  Keys -to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


70  Faulty  Diction 

since  "  a  talented  man  "  should  mean  "  a  man  of 
talent,"  t.  e.,  "  a  man  with  one  talent,"  while  in  the 
parable  the  man  with  a  single  talent  was  not  what  is 
now  meant  by  "  a  talented  man  ";  but  while  talent 
and  genius  are  carefully  distinguished  (see  synonyms 
of  GENIUS,  in  vocabulary),  there  is  no  adjective  form 
corresponding  to  genius,  so  that  to  avoid  the  use  of  a 
paraphrase  many  of  the  best  English  writers,  as 
Burke,  Hazlitt,  Lamb,  De  Quincey,  Macaulay,  and 
Newman,  have  used  "  a  talented  man  "  in  the  sense 
of  "  a  man  of  genius,"  t.  e.,  "  a  man  of  talents  "  in  the 
strict  use  ot  the  metaphor.  Moreover,  talented  may 
be  regarded  as  having  won  a  place  in  the  language  in 
Great  Britain,  as  expressing  a  higher  order  of  ability 
than  clevei ,  as  when  "  a  talented  writer  "  is  used  in- 
stead of  the  phrase  "  a  writer  of  genius  ";  and  in  the 
United  States  not  only  as  expressing  the  higher  order 
of  ability,  but  also  as  avoiding  the  ambiguity  that 
would  result  from  the  colloquial  use  of  clever  if  the 
latter  word  should  be  substituted  for  talented. 

tap'es-try-  1  tap'es-tn;  2  tap'§s-try,  not  1  tep'es-tn; 
2  tSp'es-try,  nor  1  tap'stn;  2  tap'stry,  nor  1  tep'stn; 
2  tep'stry. 

ta-ran'tu-la.  1  ta-ran'tm-la;  2  ta-rSn'tu-la,  not  1 
tar-an-tiu'la;  2  tar-an-tu'la. 

tar-pau']in.  1  tar-pe'hn;  2  tar-pa'lin,  not  1  tor- 
po'lin;  2  tiir-po'lin. 

teat.     1  tit;  2  tet,  not  1  tit;  2  tit. 

te'di-ous.     1  ti'di-us;  2  te'di-iis,  not  1  tl'jos;  2  te'jiis. 

tech'y  or  tetch'y.  Not,  as  commonly  supposed,  a  cor- 
ruption of  touchy,  but  an  independent  word  in  old 
English:  now  only  provincial  or  dialectic.  "  Techi 
and  wayward  was  thine  infancy."  Shakespeake  K. 
Richard  III.  act  iv. 

tell  of.  Meaning  to  "  give  information  concerning  ": 
to  be  distinguished  from  tell  on. 

tell  oo.  "  To  tell  on  a  person,"  in  the  sense  of  "  to  in- 
form against  a  person,"  is  used  in  the  Bible  (1  Sam. 
xxvii,  11),  but  is  now  mainly  heard  in  the  language  of 
children.  The  loss  of  it  in  literary  English  has  not 
been  supplied  by  any  equivalent.  "  Tell  of  "  has  a 
different  meaning. 

te-na'clous.  1  ti-ne'^us;  2  te-na'shus,  not  1  tl- 
na^'us;  2  te-nSsh'us. 

tenses,  sequence  of.  Faulty  diction  is  often  the  re- 
sult of  failure  to  employ  the  proper  sequence  of  tenses 
in  complex  sentences.  By  what  is  called  the  attraction 
of  tenses,  the  requirement  is,  as  a  rule,  that  the  tense 
of  the  dependent  verb  shall  be  present  when  that  of 
the  principal  verb  is  present,  and  past  when  that  of 
the  principal  verb  is  past.  "  He  says  that  he  is 
tired  "  becomes  when  reported  as  a  past  state  "  He 
said  that  he  was  tired,"  and  could  not  be  "  He  said 
that  he  is  tired."  "  He  says  that  his  friend  is  living  " 
becomes  "  He  said  that  his  friend  was  living  ";  "  He 
said  that  his  friend  is  living  "  would  be  contrary  to 
English  analogy. 

If  the  time  of  the  dependent  verb  is  antecedent  to 
that  of  the  principal  verb,  it  continues  antecedent 
when  the  principal  verb  is  carried  into  the  past.  "  He 
says  that  his  friend  has  studied  F'rench  "  becomes 
"  He  said  that  his  friend  had  studied  French."     So 

For  Eeys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  71 

with  xmli  and  would,  shall  and  should.  The  speaker 
Bays  "  I  will  pay  it,"  "  I  shall  die  ";  the  messenger 
correctly  reports  these  utterances  "  He  said  that  he 
would  pay  it,"  "'  He  said  that  he  should  die."  Com- 
paro  SHOULD. 

To  the  general  rule  of  the  attraction  of  tenses  one 
notable  exception  is  that,  when  the  dependent  sen- 
tence states  a  fact  that  is  unchanging  or  universal, 
and  hence  always  existing,  the  present  tense  is  re- 
tained in  the  dependent  sentence,  even  when  the 
action  of  the  principal  verb  is  transferred  to  the  past. 
"  He  says  that  space  is  infinite  "  becomes  "  He  said 
that  space  is  infinite  ";  "  He  says  that  God  is  good  " 
becomes  "  He  said  that  God  is  good."  But  "  He  said 
that  God  was  very  bountiful  to  him  "  is  correct,  be- 
cause that  is  a  fact  allcRed  of  a  certain  limited  time. 
So  "  He  says  that  God  will  take  care  of  him  "  becomes 
"  He  said  that  God  -would  take  care  of  him,"  as  ex- 
pressing confidence  touching  the  destiny  of  one  per- 
son, rather  than  a  universal  truth. 

Terp"si-cho-re'an.  1  turp"si-ko-ri'Dn;  2  terp'si-eo- 
re'an,  not  1  turp"si-k6'n-an;  2  terp"si-c6're-an. 

tcr'ra-pln.  1  ter'a-pin,  not  tur'a-pin,  7ior  tor'a-pin;  2 
tSr'a-pIn,  not  ter'a-pln,  nor  tiir'a-pln. 

than,  conj.  Has  the  office  of  connecting  p  subordinate 
proposition,  as  an  adverbial  modifier,  with  an  adjec- 
tive or  adverb  of  comparison  in  a  principal  proposi- 
tion; hence  its  use  is  improper  where  there  is  no  com- 
parison. "  No  sooner  .  .  .  than  ";  but  not  "  hardly 
.  .  .  than,"  "  scarcely  .  .  .  than."  The  faulty  con- 
struction is  obvious  when  the  words  are  closely  joined, 
but  is  readily  fallen  into  by  careless  writers  when 
there  are  intervening  words  of  sentences;  as,  "  This 
is  derived  from  a  wholly  different  source  than  the 
other,"  properly  "  from  the  other." 

than  whom.  A  phrase  objected  to  by  some  gram- 
matical critics,  in  such  locutions  as  "  Cromwell,  than 
whom  no  man  was  better  skilled  in  artifice  ";  but 
shown  to  be  "  a  quite  classic  expression."  Formerly 
than  was  often  but  not  always  used  as  a  preposition, 
and  than  whom  is  probably  a  survival  of  such  usage. 
The  habit  of  putting  a  pronoun  that  ends  a  sentence 
in  the  objective  case  strengthens  the  tendency  to  the 
prepositional  employment  of  than,  and  hence  the 
usage  in  such  sentences  as  "  He  is  older  than  me," 
"  you  are  taller  than  him,"  so  common  in  English 
literature  before  the  19th  century.  Nevertheless,  this 
tendency  has  been  resisted  by  grammarians,  and  in 
the  20th  century  such  phraseology  is  considered  bad 
English.  "  Than  whom,"  however,  is  generally  ac- 
cepted as  permissible  —  probably  because  the  sen- 
tence where  it  occurs  can  not  be  mended  without  re- 
construction, and  it  has  abundant  literary  authority. 

that,  who,  which.  In  general,  that  in  its  relative  use 
may  be  regarded  as  restrictive,  who  or  which  as  coordi- 
nating. As  thus  discriminated,  that  is  often  nearly 
equivalent  to  such  as,  and  who  or  which  to  a  conjunc- 
tive phrase  with  and,  as,  since,  or  the  like. 

'I  met  the  boatman  who  took  me  across  the  ferry."  It 
•who'  is  the  proper  word  here,  the  meaning  is  'I  met  the 
boatman,  and  he  took  me  across.'  It  being  suppcscfl  that 
the  boatman  Is  known  and  dellnlte.     But  If  there  be 

for  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  pago  8. 


72  Faulty  Diction 

several  boatmen,  and  I  wish  to  Indicate  one  in  particular 
by  the  circuinsitHnce  that  he  had  talien  me  aeioss  the 
ferry.  I  should  use  "that.'  Alfred  Ayres  TIte  Verbalist 
p.  202. 

"  All  words  that  are  signs  of  complex  ideas,  furnish 
matter  of  mistake  ";"  All  words  u)/iicA  are  signs,"  etc.; 
which  of  these  expressions  is  correct?  "All  words 
that  are,"  etc.,  signifies  "  words  such  as  have  this 
quality  of  being  complex  ";  "  All  words  which  are," 
etc.,  may  be  equivalent  to  "  All  words,  since  they  are 
signs,"  etc.  But  the  latter  statement  is  not  true; 
hence  the  sentence  is  better  written  "  All  words  that 
are  signs  of  complex  ideas,"  etc. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  limitations  to  the  uni- 
form observance  of  this  discrimination  of  that,  as  re- 
strictive, from  who  and  which. 

1.  Since  who  relates  to  persons  only,  while  that  may 
equally  well  refer  to  things,  who  is  used  instead  of  that 
even  in  restrictive  clauses  when  the  persona!  element 
is  to  be  made  prominent.  "  The  disciples  that  con- 
stituted the  early  church  "  is  less  vivid  than  "  The 
disciples  who  constituted  the  early  church." 

3.  Since  that  requires  its  governing  preposition  to 
be  placed  at  the  end  of  the  clause,  many  speakers  and 
writers  prefer  to  substitute  which  for  that  in  such  ex- 
pressions as  "  The  faith  that  the  martyrs  died  for," 
changing  it  to  "  The  faith  for  which  the  martyrs  died  " 
—  on  the  ground  that  the  latter  form  lends  itself  bet- 
ter to  dignity  and  ease  of  style.  Many,  however,  pre- 
fer the  form  with  that. 

3.  Since  that  is  not  only  relative,  but  also  adjective, 
conjunction  and  demonstrative,  it  is  often  better  to 
avoid  an  infelicitous  accumulation  of  thnt's  in  a  sen- 
tence, by  the  use  of  who  or  which,  or  some  other  ex- 
pression, in  place  of  that.  For  "  I  am  told  that  that 
man  that  brought  you  that  message  said  that  "  may  be 
substituted  "  I  am  told  that  the  man  who  brought  you 
the  message  said  so." 

Special  care  is  needed  in  substituting  cither  of  the 
coordinating  relatives  for  a  restrictive  that,  since, 
while  the  reference  of  that  is  almost  always  to  the  noua 
immediately  preceding  it,  the  reference  of  the  other 
words  may  be  to  something  more  remote.  In  cases 
of  such  substitution  it  often  becomes  necessary  to  in- 
dicate the  exact  relation  and  meaning  by  the  presence 
or  absence  of  a  comma.  "  All  words,  which  are  signs 
of  complex  ideas,"  can  only  be  understood  to  mean 
that  all  words  are  signs  of  complex  ideas.  "  Avoid 
the  society  of  men  that  are  selfish  and  cruel  "  means 
*'  of  such  men  as  are,"  etc.  "  Avoid  the  companion- 
ship of  men  who  are  selfish  and  cruel  "  may  be  said 
with  the  same  meaning;  but  "  Avoid  the  society  of 
men,  who  are  selfish  and  cruel,"  can  only  mean  that 
men  as  a  class  are  selfish  and  cruel  and  should  be 
shunned. 

In  the  course  of  editing  the  Greek  text  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, I  believe  I  have  destroyed  more  than  a  thousand 
commas,  which  prevented  the  text  being  properly  under« 
stood. 

ALFORD  The  Queen's  English,  ch.  iv,  par.  192.  p.  74. 

This  can  mean  nothing  else  than  that  the  "  de- 
struction "    of    "  commas  "    prevented    the    correct 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  73 

understanding  of  the  text  of  the  New  Testament  —  a 
lamentable  result.  If  the  comma  were  omitted  after 
the  word  commas  it  might  be  inferred  that  the  "  com- 
mas destroyed  "  were  what  "  prevented  the  text  being 
properly  understood."  But  a  better  statement,  free 
from  all  ambiguity,  would  be  "  commas  that  prevented 
the  proper  understanding  of  the  text." 

the'a-ter.  1  tlira-tar;  2  the'a-ter,  not  1  thi-e'ter;  2 
the-a'ler. 

these  kind,  those  sort,  etc.  As  of  fruits  or  anything 
else,  an  inexcusable  vulgarism. 

they,  their,  them,  etc.  Erroneously  used  in  such  ex- 
presfsions  as  "  If  any  one  has  lost  a  penknife,  they  may 
apply  to  the  janitor."     See  plural  and  construo 

TIOiN. 

this.  Allowable  before  a  coHedipe  expression;  Ba,"thi» 
ten  years." 

this,  that,  or  these,  those.  In  the  sense  of  former 
and  latter :  archaic,  but,  if  used,  this,  these,  should  refer 
to  the  latter  of  the  two  things  mentioned;  that,  those, 
to  the  former. 

thon.  Pronoun  of  the  3d  person,  common  gender, 
meaning  "that  one,  he,  she,  or  it":  a  nooterism  ap- 
parently complying  with  the  ncotcristic  canons,  since 
it  supplies  an  antecedent  blank,  obeys  an  obvious 
analogy,  and  is  euphonious.  See  Funk  &  Wagn.\ll8 
New  Standard  Dictionart. 

thou'sand.  1  thau'zand;  2  thou'sand,  not  1  thau'zan; 
2  thou'san. 

through.  "  The  speaker  when  through  was  cheered  to 
the  echo  ";  rather,  "  when  he  had  finished."  "  I  am 
through,"  meaning  "  I  have  finished  eating,"  or  "  I 
have  dined,"  is  a  vulgarism. 

tick'lish.  1  tik'h^;  2  tik'llsh,  not  1  tik'l-i^;  2 
tlk'1-ish. 

till.  In  some  parts  of  the  United  States  oddly  misused 
for  by:  as,  "  I'll  be  there  till  [by]  ten  o'clock." 

ti'ny.  1  tai'ni;  2  ti'ny,  not  1  ti'ni;  2  ti'ny,  nor  1  tin'i; 
2  tin'y. 

to.  As  a  sign  of  the  infinitive,  to  not  to  be  separated 
(save  in  exceptional  cases)  from  its  verb  by  any  inter- 
vening word  or  phrase;  as,  "  to  go  immediately,"  not 
"  to  immediately  go." 

Strong  censure  of  the  "  cleft  or  split  infinitive  "  (in- 
finitive in  which  to  is  separated  from  the  verb)  has 
been  expressed  by  grammatical  critics;  but  while  it 
must  be  admitted  that  its  employment  is  a  blemish, 
it  is  to  be  noticed  that  its  occurrence  in  good  literature 
is  frequent.  Briefly,  then,  one  may  say  that  its  use 
is  in  general  to  be  avoided,  but  that  it  is  permissible 
■where  ambiguity  of  sense  or  complexity  of  structure 
would  result  from  using  the  infinitive  in  its  regular 
form. 

An  adverb  is  often  suitably  put  before  the  to  in- 
stead of  after  the  verb  it  qualifies;  but  this  arrange- 
ment is  open  to  the  objection  that  it  sometimes 
permits  uncertainty  as  to  the  word  quaUfied  by  the 
adverb. 

The  indication  of  an  infinitive  by  to  without  the 
actual  expression  of  the  verb  to  which  it  belongs  is  a 
CoUoquiaUsra  pardonable  in  conversation,  but  unauit- 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


74  Faulty  Diction 

able  to  writing  that  is  not  intended  to  be  colloquial 
in  style. 

But  don't  [said  Lady  Holmhurst],  If  you  don't  wish  to, 
you  know. 
H.  RiDEB  Haggard  Mr.  Meeson's  Will  ch.  5,  p.  61.  (h.  '88.^ 

trans-act'.  1  trans-[or  tranz-Jakt" ;  2  tr4ns-[or  trSng-jact'. 

trans 'mi-grate.  1  trans'mi-g;et;  2  trins'mi-grat,  not 
1  trans-moi'gret;  2  trans-mi'grat. 

tran-spire'.  Often  misused,  especially  in  carelessly 
edited  newspapers,  for  occur  or  happen,  as  in  "  Com- 
ments on  th"  heart=rending  disaster  that  transpired 
yesterday  are  superfluous,  but,"  etc.  A  thing  that 
occurred  a  year  ago  may  not  transpire  until  to=day. 
For  a  criticism  of  this  misuse  of  transpire,  see  a  quota- 
tion from  J.  S.  Mill  under  teanspihe,  in  Funk  & 
Wagnalls  New  STArrDABD  Dictionary. 

trav'el-er.  1  trav'el-ar;  2  trav'61-er,  not  1  trav'lar;  2 
trav'ler. 

tre-men 'dous.  1  tn-meu'dus;  2  tre-mSn'dus,  not  1 
tn-men'jus;  2  tre-mSn'jus. 

trod'den,  trod.  In  prose,  trodden  as  a  perfect  parti- 
ciple is  much  better  than  trod.  "  You  have  trodden 
jnot  trod]  on  my  foot."  In  poetry,  the  participle  trod 
18  not  uncommon. 

They  should  have  trod  me  Into  clay. 

Tennyson  Ballad  of  Oriana  at.  7. 

truths.     1  truths;  2  truths,  not  1  truthz;  2  truthg. 

tube.     1  tiub;  2  tub,  not  1  tub;  2  tub. 

Tues'day.    1  tiuz'di;  2  tu.|'dy,  not  1  tuz'di;  2  tus'dy, 

nor  1  <Si\\nz'(h\2  chug'dy 
tui^'bine.     1  tor'bm  or  -bain;  2  tftr'bin  or  -bin,  not  1 

tur'bin;  2  tOr'bln. 
tur'nip.     1  tur'nip;  2  tftr'nip,  not  1  ttJr'nnp;  2  tOr'nGp. 
ty'pbus.     1  toi'fus;  2  ty'fus,  not  1  tai'pns;  2  ty'pus. 
tyr'an-ny.     1  tir'a-m;  2  tJ*T'a-ny,  not  1  toi'ra-m;  2 

ty'ra-ny. 


u 


ugly.  In  England  the  prominent  meaning  is  "  xUa 
looking  or  unsightly,"  the  opposite  of  beautiful;  in 
the  United  States  it  is  used  both  of  men  and  beasts 
in  the  sense  of  "  vicious,  ill^'natured,  and  dangerous." 
"  Drink  makes  that  man  ugly  ";"  That  horse  has  an 
ugly  eye."  In  the  latter  use  the  word  is  liable  to  a 
misapprehension  of  its  meaning,  unless  its  relation  to 
temper  or  disposition  is  either  expressed  or  readily 
implied;  as,  "  She  had  an  ugly  face."  Had  she  a  face 
indicative  of  bad  temper,  or  a  face  not  beautiful  ? 

Ul"tra-mon 'tane.  1  urtra-mon'ten;  2  iirtra-mSn'- 
tan,  net  1  -men- ten';  2  -mon-tan'. 

nm-brel'la.  1  um-brel'a;  2  um-brgl'a,  not  1  um- 
brel-a;  2  um'brel-s,  nor  1  um-ber-el'a;  2  um-ber-fl'a. 

Cn-.  In  the  use  of  words  beginning  with  un-  as  ex- 
pressive of  negation,  care  must  be  taken  not  to  joia 
them  in  the  same  construction  with  antecedent  nega- 
tives. The  following  incorrect  sentence  recently  ap)- 
peared  in  a  New  York  newspaper:  "  The  policy  of  the 
company  was  announced  in  no  unmistakable  lan- 
guage."   "  No  unmistakable  language  "  is,  of  course. 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  75 

"  mxstakable  (or  ambiiiuous)  lariRuage  "  —  the  reverse 
of  what  the  writer  of  the  sentence  meant  to  say. 

Uli"be-known'.  An  obsolete  or  provincial  colloquial- 
ism, even  ignored  by  some  dictiouariea.  Unbeknovmst 
is  its  vulgar  variant. 

nn-clv'il.  1  un-siv'il;  2  fin-flv'ij,  not  1  un-siv'l;  Z 
On-clv'l. 

nn-com'mon.  Incorrectly  used  instead  of  the  adverb 
uncommonly,  in  t.ho  sense  of  "  to  an  unusual  degree  or 
extremely  ";  as,  "  Her  eyes  are  uncommon  btautiful." 

un-con'scion-a-blc.  An  adjective  used  for  the  ad- 
verb unccmscionahly:  a  bad  pro\'incIalism.  Some- 
times I'ulgarly  misused  as  a  synonym  of  uncommonly; 
as,  "  She  is  an  unconscionable  handsome  girl." 

nn"der-band'ed.  Has  been  characterized  as  a  loose 
use  of  unclerkand  but  usage  ha.s  .-iltnost  legitimated  it, 
jiltlio  the  h(\st  writiT-  still  pn'fcr  1/  '■■Iprhand 

nn'der  one's  sig'na-ture.    See  oveh  his  sicnaturb. 

Un"dcr-stand'.  Colloquially  misused  as  an  expletive 
with  interrogatory  inflection,  as  a  contraction  of  do 
yon  understand  f  and  often  with  decidedly  objection- 
able iteration,  as  if  one  should  say:  "  Grammar,  under- 
stand, is  the  science  that  treats  of  the  principles, 
■understand,  that  govern  the  correct  use  of  language, 
etc.     Sec  is  also  misused  in  the  same  manner. 

nn'der  way,  un'der  weigh.  Distinguish  between  these 
terms.  Consult  Kunk  ik.  Wacnalls  New  Standard 
Dictionary. 

nnenipbatic  words.  The  use  of  an  unemphatic  word 
or  words  at  the  close  of  a  statement  or  declaration 
seriously  weakens  the  force;  as,  "  His  letters  show 
how  honorable  in  all  his  purposes  he  was."     See  CON- 

STRUCl'lON. 

nn"fre-quent'ed.  1  un'fn-kwent'ad;  2  iin'fr©- 
kwent'ed,  not  1  un-fri'kwcnt-ad;  2  iin-fre'kwgnt-ed. 

n-nique'.  An  adjective  frequently  perverted,  as  de- 
noting a  degree  of  strangeness  or  oddity  instead  of 
indicating  an  object  as  the  only  one  of  its  kind,  which 
is  the  sole  proper  sense  of  the  word.  We  may  say 
quite  unique  if  we  mean  absolutely  singular  or  with- 
out parallel,  but  we  can  not  properly  say  very  unique. 
This  word  has  been  nonsensically  used  as  a  synonym 
of  beautiful. 

nn-learn'ed.  1  un-lum'ed;  2  un-lern'fid,  in  poetio 
use  sometimes  1  un-lurnd;  2  un-lernd. 

Un-prec'e-dent-ed.  1  un-pres'i-dent-cd;  2  iin- 
prfig'e-dSnt-ed,  not  1  un-prl'si-dent'ed;  2  un-pre'ce* 
dgnt'fd,  nor  1  un-pri-si'dent-ed;  2  un-pre-fe'dSnt-^d. 

Un-wa'ry.  1  un-we'n;  2  iin-wa'ry,  not  1  un-war'i;  2 
iin-wSr'y. 

■np.  WhUe  the  adverb  up  is  often  purely  a  redundance, 
usage  has  sanctioned  it  in  many  cases  where  rigid  style 
might  object  to  its  appearance.  Up  as  indicating 
completeness  or  emphasis  should  be  discriminated 
from  the  redundant  up.  In  open  up,  if  the  sense  is 
that  of  the  mere  entrance  upon  or  beginning  of  some- 
thing, up  is  pleonastic;  as,  "  He  opened  up  his  speech 
with  a  story."  But  if  the  meaning  is  that  of  more  or 
less  complete  development,  up  is  essential;  as,  "  Web- 
ster always  opened  up  a  subject  ";  "  The  Aspen  mines 
have  been  generally  opened  up."  See  vv,  in  Fdnk  & 
Waqnalls  New  !jta.ndard  Dictionary. 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


76  Faulty  Diction 

np-on'.  Often  used  for  on  in  such  phrases  as  "  call 
upon,"  whether  meaning  visit  or  summon,  and  "  speak 
(or  write)  upon."  The  reasonable  tendency  now  ia 
to  use  the  simpler  on  whenever  the  idea  of  superposi- 
tion is  not  involved. 

ur-ban'i-ty.  1  ur-ban'i-ti;  2  Clr-ban'i-ty,  not  1  ur- 
be'ni-ti;  2  Qr-ba'ni-ty. 

U're-a.     1  yu'ri-a;  2  yu're-a,  not  1  yu-rl'a;  2  yu-re'a. 

used.     1  yuzd;  2  yugd,  not  1  yust;  2  yust. 

use  to.  The  word  used  is  often  improperly  shortened 
to  use,  and  is  so  employed  in  such  phrases  as  "  I  use  to 
be,"  "  He  uae  to  go,"  etc. 

u'su-al-ly.  1  yu'3u-al-i;  2  yu'2hu-al-y,  not  1  yu'sal-i; 
2  >u'zh3l-y. 

u-surp'.  1  yu-zurp';  2  joj-gClrp',  7wt  1  yu-surp';  2 
yu-sdrp'. 

ul'ter.  The  adjectival  use  of  utter  in  any  but  an  un- 
favorable sense  i?  ^Tong;  utter  iiorisense,  but  not  utter 
sense;  utter  discord,  but  not  utter  harmony;  utter  dark' 
ness,  but  not  utter  light.  The  adverb  ut'ter-ly  is  sub 
ject  to  the  same  rule.  It  may  be  said  of  a  man  that 
he  is  utterly  vicious,  but  not  that  he  is  utterly  good. 


V 


vac'cl-nate.  1  vak'si-net;  2  v5e'ci-nat,  not  1  vaa'i- 
net;  2  vic'i-nat. 

Va-ga'ry.  1  va-ge'n;  2  va-ga'ry,  not  1  ve'gar-i;  2 
va'ga^ry. 

Val'u-a-ble.  1  val'yu-a-bl;  2  vSl'yu-a-bl,  not  1  val'yu- 
bl;  2  vSl'yu-bl.  Properly  used  only  of  things  that 
have  monetary  worth  or  that  possess  a  precious  or  use- 
ful character  or  quality,  but  sometimes  improperly 
extended  in  colloquial  use  to  persons  and  used  instead 
of  valued;  as,  "  We  have  lost  a  valuable  friend."  "  One 
of  our  most  valued  contributors  has  sent  us  several 
valuable  articles  "  is  correct.  Transposition  of  the 
adjectives  would  make  the  sentence  faulty. 

va-mose'.  This  verb,  although  it  has  a  pseudo^classical 
etymology,  is  ranked  as  slang. 

va'rl-e-gate.  1  ve'n-i-get;  2  va'ri-e-gat,  not  1  va- 
rai's-get;  2  va-rl-a-gat,  nor  1  ve'ri-get;  2  va'ri-gat. 

va-ri'o-la.  1  va-rai'o-la;  2  va-ri'o-la,  not  1  ve"ri-6'la; 
2  va"ri-6'la. 

vaude'ville.  1  vod'vil;  2  vod'vll,  not  1  ved'vil;  2 
vod'vll. 

ve'he-ment.  1  vi'hi-[or  -i-]ment;  2  ve'he-[or  -e-]- 
ment,  not  1  vi-hl'ment;  2  ve-he'ment. 

ve'nal  and  vc'ni-al.  Careless  and  ignorant  writers 
sometimes  confound  these  adjectives.  Theft  on  the 
part  of  a  starving  man  is  a  venial  sin,  but  the  -act  i3 
not  venal:  embezzlement  by  a  bank  cashier  is  venal, 
but  not  venial. 

Ven'i-son.  1  ven'i-zsn  or  ven'zan;  2  v6n'i-§on,  or 
v6n-§on,  not  1  ven'i-san;  2  v6n'i-son,  nor  1  ven'son; 
2  ven'son. 

Ven'ti-late.  Care  must  be  taken  in  the  metaphorical 
use  of  this  verb  not  to  apply  it  directly  to  persons;  in 
such  application  it  is  slang.  It  is  properly  applicable 
to  facts,  motives,  opinions,  etc.,  and  permissible  only 
in  the  sense  of  exposing  or  giving  publicity  to;  as,  to 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


Faulty  Diction  77 

ventilate  o  public  abuse,  or  a  criminal  purpose. 

Ve-rac'l-ty.  Said  only  of  persons  or  tlieir  statements, 
not  of  facts,  while  truth  is  applicable  to  both  persona 
and  facts.  It  would  be  incorrect  to  speak  of  the 
veracity  of  anything  that  has  been  done  or  has  come 
to  pass.  A  man  is  or  is  not  considered  a  person  of 
veracity;  a  story  is  or  is  not  true.  "A  man  of  truth  and 
veracity"  is  a  pleonastic  expression.  See  synonyms 
under  veracity,  in  Funk  &  Wacnalls  New  Stand- 
ard Dictionary. 

ver-bos'i-ty.  1  vdr-bes'i-ti;  2  ver-bSs'i-ty,  not  1  var- 
bos'i-ti:  2  vcr-bos'i-ty. 

verse.  Primarily  a  single  line  of  poetry;  often  ques- 
tionably extended  to  apply  to  a  connected  series  of 
lines,  as  a  stanza;  "  The  congregation  will  sing  the 
lOiJd  hymn,  omitting  the  second  and  third  tersea 
(stanzas)."  Some  grammarians  of  high  standing,  as 
Professor  W.  D.  Whitney,  advocate  the  use  of  verse 
instead  of  stanza. 

ver'sion.  1  vUr'sTisn;  2  ver'shon,  not  1  vur'san;  2 
ver'zhon. 

ver')'.  An  adverb  that  from  the  grammarian's  point 
of  view  properly  qualifies  a  participle  only  when  thu 
latter  is  used  merely  as  an  adjective;  as,  very  tired; 
very  pleasing.  The  grammatical  critics  accordingly 
object  to  such  expressions  as  very  pleased,  very  dis- 
satisfied, or  very  hated.  It  must  bo  said,  however, 
that,  altho  it  may  be  better  grammar  to  interpose 
an  adverb;  as,  very  much  pleased,  very  greatly  dis- 
satisfied, or  very  bitterly  hated;  yet  this  use  of  very  has 
been  good  English  for  centuries. 

vet'er-i-na-ry.     1  vet'sr-i-ne-n;  2  v5t'er-i-na-ry,  not 

1  vet'nn-e-ri;    2    v6t'rin-a-ry,    nor    1    vet'in-e-n;    2 
v6t'in-a-ry. 

vlc'ar.     1  vik'ar;  2  vie'ar,  not  1  voi'kar;  2  vi'car. 
Tlc'to-ry.     1  vik'to-n;  2  vic'to-ry,  not  1  vik'ta-n;  2 

vic'to-ry,  nor  1  vik'tn;  2  vic'try. 
vin'di-ca-to"ry.     1  vin'di-ka-t6"ri;  2  vln'di-ca-to'ry, 

not  1  vm-dik'a-to-ri;  2  vin-dlc'a-to-ry. 
Tl"o-lin-cel'lo.     A  corruption  of  violoncello. 
Tir'u-lent.     Ivir'u-lent;  2  vlr'ij-lent,  not  1  vur'u-Ient; 

2  vlr'u-l5nt. 

Tis 'count".  1  vai'kuunt;  2  vl'count,  not  1  vis'kaunt; 
2  vis'count. 

vit'ri-ol.     1  vit'n-al;  2  vlt'ri-ol,  not  1  vit'ral;  2  vlt'roL 

wi'i'oT.     1  viz'ar;  2  viz'or,  not  1  vai'zar;  2  vl'zor. 

TOl-ca'no.  1  vel-ke'no;  2  vol-ea'no.  Fitzedward 
Hall  says  (Modem  English,  p.  319):  "  The  pronunci- 
ation of  volcano  with  the  Italian  a  [1  vol-ka'no;  2 
v6l-€a'no]  is  a  sort  of  shibboleth  of  the  English  no- 
bility." 

»Ol'un-ta-ri-ly.  1  vel'un-te-n-h;  2  v61'un-ta-ri-ly, 
not  1  vel-un-te'n-h;  2  v61-un-ta'ri-ly. 


w 


waft.     1  waft;  2  waft,  not  1  waft;  2  wSft. 
waist'coat.     1   west'kot   or  wes'kat;   2   wast'cSt   or 

wfe'cot. 
wan'der-ing.    1  wan'dar-ig;  2  wan'der-ing,  not  1  wqe'- 

drir);  2  wan'dring. 

For  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  sec  page  &. 


78  Faulty  Diction 

wa'n't.  A  contraction  of  was  riot,  or  improperly  of  were 
not;  as,  "  He  wa'n't  (or  they  wa'n't)  at  home":  a 
common  vulgarism. 

wasp.     1  wesp,  not  wesp;  2  wasp,  not  wasp. 

wa'ter.     1  wo'tar;  2  wa'ter,  not  1  wo'tor;  2  wo'ter. 

ways,  for  way.  In  the  sense  of  "  space  or  distance," 
the  erroneous  form  ways,  for  way,  is  often  used  collo- 
quially, perhaps  originally  through  confusion  with  the 
suffix  -ways:  as,  "  The  church  is  a  long  ways  from 
here,"  which  should  be  "  The  church  is  a  long  way," 
etc. 

we.  The  "  editorial  we  "  is  occasionally  misused,  as 
when  an  editor  writes  "  We  asked  the  advice  of  our 
wife."  In  such  case  the  writer  should  not  use  the 
pronoun  we,  but  should  allude  to  himself  as  in  the 
third  person,  "  He  asked  the  advice  of  his  wife."  It 
would  be  proper  to  sa.y,  "  Our  editor  (or  the  editor) 
asked  the  advice  of  his  ■wife." 

weap'on.     1  wep'an;  2  wgp'on,  not  1  wip'an;  2  wep'on. 

Wednes'day.  1  wenz'di;  2  wSng'dy,  not  1  wed'nsz-di; 
2  wed'nes-dy. 

went  for  gone.  The  imperfect  went  is  often  vulgarly 
used  for  the  past  participle  gone  in  conjunction  with 
the  verb  have:  as,  "  1  haoe  went  there  many  times," 
instead  of  "  I  have  gone,"  etc. 

whack,  what,  which,  etc.  Pronounced  hwac,  hwet, 
hwich,  etc.;  not  wan,  wet,  wich,  etc.  The  English  are 
especially  lax  in  the  pronunciation  of  such  words  as 
these,  almost  uniformly  dropping  the  initial  h  sound, 
whUe  many  Americans  err  by  making  the  aspirate  too 
sharply  prominent.  The  h  sound  should  be  distinct, 
but  not  too  conspicuous. 

wharf.  Either  wharfs  or  wharves  i^  correct  as  the 
plural  of  wharf.  By  extension,  wharf  is  sometimes 
erroneously  used  in  the  sense  of  dock.  See  dock,  ia 
Funk  &  Wagn.^lls  New  Standajid  Dictionart. 

where.  The  preposition  to  or  at  must  never  end  a 
sentence  beginning  with  this  interroaative.  Exam- 
ples of  such  vulgar  redundance  are:  Where  has  he 
gone  to  f"    "  Where  was  lat?" 

wheth'er  or  no.  A  phrase  that  has  by  usage  been 
legitimated,  though  whether  or  not  is  more  strictly 
correct. 

which,  who,  that.  The  use  of  these  words  muse  be 
confined  to  the  antecedent  clause  or  phrase,  and  care 
must  be  taken  to  have  such  antecedent  perfectly 
clear.  For  the  general  principles,  see  coNSTRUCTIO^f 
For  the  use  of  who,  which,  and  that  in  relative  clauses, 
see  THAT.  Compare  also  who,  which,  and  that,  in 
Funk  &  Wagn.vli.s  New  Standard  Dictionary. 

who.  Improperly  for  whom;  as,  "  Who  do  you  refer 
to  ?  "  In  all  such  instances  if  the  words  are  transposed 
the  impropriety  becomes  obvious. 

whole  of.  A  phrase  not  to  be  used  for  whole  or  entire 
before  a  plural  noun;  as,  "  The  whole  of  the  (rather 
the  entire)  audience  rose  and  cheered."  Nor  can 
whole  of  be  substituted  for  all:  as,  "  The  whole  of  the 
conspirators  were  caught,"  which  should  read  "  All 
the  conspirators  were  caught." 

irhose.  The  use  of  whoitt,-  the  possessive  of  who,  in 
place  of  the  phrase  of  which,  is  now  considered  good 

For  Keys  to  SjTiibo!?  -i.sed,  see  paee  8. 


Faulty  Diction  79 

style.  Instead  of  "  Poetry,  the  chief  purpose  of  whicn 
is  to  exalt  the  beautifij  "  we  can  correctly  sa» 
"  Poetry,  whose  chief  purpose,"  etc. 

Wid'ow  wom'an.  An  obsolete  or  provincial  expression, 
now  a  pleonasm,  the  word  ividow  now  always  signify* 
ing  a  woman. 

Wind.  The  noun  vnnd  is  pronounced  with  the  short  », 
except  in  poetry,  where  it  sometimes  legitimately 
takes  the  long  i  (ai),  to  rime  with  mind,  kind,  etc. 

Wlth-out'.  Not  to  be  used  as  a  conjunction  for  unless 
or  except.  "  I'll  come  withmU  it  rains  "  is  incorrect 
for  "  I'll  come  unless  it  rains."  Without  has  the  dis- 
advantage of  occurring  as  three  parts  of  speech  with 
a  perplexing  variety  of  meanings. 

Wit  ness.  A  verb  sometimes  misused  as  a  synonym  of 
see.  We  can  witness  an  assault,  a  murder,  a  theft,  a 
sunrise,  anything  that  is  of  the  nature  of  an  event  or 
is  subject  to  change  —  but  not  a  thing  —  not  a  river, 
a  house,  a  firj,  or  a  star. 
irom'aa.    See  lady. 

worse.  An  adverb  sometimes  used  for  more:  as,  "  He 
dislikes  tea  worse  than  coffee  ":  a  vxilgarism. 

worst  kind.  For  much  or  extremely:  as,  "  I  need  (or 
want)  a  new  pen  the  worst  kind  ":  a  vulgarism,  besides 
equivocally  suggesting  "  the  worst  kind  of  a  pen." 

wres'tle.    1  res'l;  2  rSs'I,  not  1  rest'l;  2  rfist'L 


y.  In  ycleped,  and  other  old  words,  has  only  the  sound 
of  t  short  as  in  tin. 

yacht.     Pronounced  yet,  not  yat. 

yel'low.     1  yel'o;  2  yfil'o,  not  1  yel's;  2  ySl'5r. 

yolk.     1  yok  or  yolk;  2  yok  or  yolk,  not  1  yelk;  2  y61k. 

yon'der.  1  yen'der;  2  y6n'der,  not  1  yen'dar;  2  y6n'« 
der.  nor  1  yun'dar;  2  yun'der. 

yon.  Even  when  used  in  relation  to  one  i)erson,  is  still 
grammatically  plural,  always  requiring  the  plural 
verb;  as,  "  You  were  fortunate,"  not  "  You  was  fortu- 
nate ";  "  If  you  were  to  curse  you  would  sin,"  not  "  If 
you  was  to  curse,"  etc.     See  tenses. 

you  and  I,  you  or  I.  Phrases  in  which  the  objective 
pronoun  me  and  the  first  persona!  pronoun  /  are  often 
confused;  as,  "  This  will  not  do  for  you  and  I,"  in- 
stead of  "  This  will  not  do  for  you  and  me."  The  rule 
is  very  simple,  viz.:  use  /  or  me  in  such  connection 
just  as  if  the  words  "  you  and  "  or  "  you  or  "  wore 
omitted.  "  They  were  not  citizens  as  (.you  and)  I  "; 
"  He  is  not  so  tall  as  (you  or)  I." 

youths.     1  yu£hs;  2  yyths,  not  1  yuthz;  2  yythg. 


xeal'ot.     1  zel'at;  2  zSl'ot,  not  1  zll'st;  2  zel'ot. 

Zeug'ma.  Is  the  joining  of  two  o"-  more  words  (as 
nouns)  to  a  third  (as  a  verb)  with  which  only  one  or  a 
part  of  them  can  be  made  to  agree  except  by  using  the 
nouns  'n  different  senses,  or  by  taking  the  verb  in 

Foi  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  S> 


80  Faulty  Diction 

different  senses  in  relation  to  the  different  nouns,  oT 
by  letting  the  underlying  logical  relation  overrule  the 
prananiatical  —  in  Greek  a  very  common  figure,  but 
in  English  cjuite  unusual  and  ordinarily  a  violaUon  of 
the  principles  ot  construction  and  a  grave  fault  in  dic- 
tion. (See  constrcction;  also  zeuoma,  in  Funk  & 
Wagnalls  New  Standard  Dictionary.)  "The 
control,  as  well  as  the  support,  which  a  father  exercises 
over  his  family  were,  by  the  dispen.sation  of  Pro\nd(-'nce. 
withdrawn";  controlis  properly  exercised,  but  support 
is  not;  the  verb-form  were  is  made  plural  to  accord, 
not  with  the  grammatical  relation  of  control  and 
support,  but  with  the  logical  relation  underlying  as 
well  as  regarded  as  equivalent  to  and. 

zinc'ic.     1  zink'ik;  2  zinc'ic,  not  1  zin'sk;  2  zin'cc. 

zo-dl'a-cal.  1  zo-doi'a-kel;  2  zo-di'a-cal,  not  1  zo'dl- 
ak-al;  2  zo'di-Sc-al. 

Jo"o-log'lc-a!.  1  z5"o-lei'i-kal;  2  zo'o-log'i-cal,  not  1 
zu"o-lej'i-kai;  2  zu°o-16g'i-€al. 

20-ol'o-gy.  1  zo-el'o-ji;  2  zo-61'o-gy,  not  1  zu-el'o-ji; 
2  zu-61'o-gy.  These  and  other  words  with  the  same 
first  element  are  in  many  instances  oddly  pronounced 
1  zu-el'o-ji;  2  zu-<51'o-gy,  1  zu'o-fait;  2  zu'o-fyt.  etc. 
—  a  mistake  that  begot  Zoo  as  the  abbreviation  in 
England  for  the  Zoological  Gardens. 


'^ 


Fot  Keys  to  Symbols  used,  see  page  8. 


p 


AA    000  903  379    6 


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